Family Bonding
by KeJae
Summary: After learning that they are brothers, Peter and Neal settle in to get to know each other while they and their friends adjust to the new situation. (Sequel to Family Genetics)
1. Chapter 1

**Personal Belongings**

* * *

Settling in on the couch after dinner, Neal patted Satchmo on the head as he meandered by for some attention. Breathing deeply, he once again relished the feeling of having a family, his friends, and the ability to be more honest with them than he had in the past.

"Why are you so content tonight?" Elizabeth asked.

Smiling, Neal answered. "I never thought that I would have this… a family, my friends, and the ability to be at least somewhat honest with everyone."

"Has there been any news of a decision yet?" Peter questioned whether or not Neal could tell them anything.

"That is actually part of what brought the topic to mind again."

"And?" Peter and Elizabeth both prompted.

"I don't get to tell you everything. For one, the bosses don't feel that you need to know why I am assigned to play Caffrey. However, I do get to tell you some things…" Neal began.

"So, get to telling us." Elizabeth settled in like he was going to tell some great story while Peter looked keenly interested.

Laughing, Neal just smiled at them. "What? So you want me to settle in and tell you the rest of my life story in one sitting?"

Beginning to see how unrealistic that was of them, the others got less excited.

"Okay, then how are you going to tell us this stuff that you can now share?" Peter asked.

"Uh…" Neal opened his mouth to explain, and then he closed it again as he thought.

"What about…" Elizabeth started to suggest a way, but then she furrowed her brows.

"…about?" Neal questioned her.

She was a little nervous as she tried to figure out how to suggest her idea. "Do you have a place of you own, besides the loft at June's?"

Surprised, Neal hadn't expected that question or direction of conversation to come up. "No. I have been moving around a lot, so I either live out of my character's accommodations, or a hotel room between assignments."

Frowning, Peter wondered. "What do you do with your personal stuff then? Keep it all in your suit case?"

Snorting, Neal threw an amused glance at him. "I have known the type, but I keep a few boxes of personal possessions in a storage unit."

Lighting up again, Elizabeth knew how to solve everything.

Questioning her sudden resurge in enthusiasm, Neal cocked his brow at her.

"Where is that storage unit located at?" Elizabeth started to share her idea.

"I like to keep it near whatever base I am stationed to work out of, so it is here in the city." Neal still didn't know where she was taking the conversation.

Glancing at Peter, Elizabeth had a silent conversation with her husband. Seeing his face light up too, she knew that she had his permission to offer. Turning to Neal, she made her suggestion. "What if you brought your things here? You could use it to share pieces of who you are with us, we could make sure they are safe, and it would give you an anchor here with the family."

Taken by surprise again, Neal hadn't thought of imposing on them like that. Turning to Peter, he also had a silent conversation as he looked for his opinion.

"We would love it if you brought them here Neal. There is an empty corner of the attic that you can claim for your stuff and we promise not to mess with it if you don't want us to." Peter looked hopeful. Since Neal was his new found little brother, he was eager to get to know him and make up for lost time.

"If it isn't too much trouble for you." Neal wasn't sure what to think about that situation.

Noticing his frown, Peter backtracked. "You don't have to if you don't want to." He felt a little hurt that his brother might not want to open up to him or trust him with his personal belongings.

Startled, Neal realized that he needed to explain more. "Peter, it's not that I don't trust you, or don't want to tell you who I am now that I am allowed to share more. It's more like… well, it feels like moving in and that is what is feeling weird to me. I mean, did you ever think that you would be offering a part of your home to me? You used to have issues if you even saw me here, so this is a big difference from how our relationship used to be."

Relaxing enough to chuckle slightly, Peter could see where he was coming from. "Becoming friends and finding that we are brothers did a lot to change that Neal." Pausing to get a good look at Neal, he extended the offer again, but in a gentler fashion. "It's an open invitation Neal, should you ever want to take us up on it."

Having adjusted to the idea some more, Neal didn't react so strongly. Throwing in a smirk, he added some humor to lighten the situation. "It would save me paying rent."

"We'll take that as a yes then." Elizabeth stated happily. "How about we make a day of it tomorrow?"

This time it was Peter's turn to frown. "Why tomorrow?"

"Oh, stop it. You know that you are curious to get to know him. Besides, it shouldn't take long and then you can curl up with your game if you still want to." Elizabeth teased her husband into better compliance.

Amused, Neal simply sat back to observe their marital banter.

"Fine, maybe Neal will even watch the game with me." Peter threw a playful glance at Neal to pull him into the banter.

"I may not be as against sports as my Caffrey character, but I'm still not the most avid fan of watching a game… I'd rather play." Neal threw the unexpected response in to throw Peter off.

Beaming, Peter could imagine all kinds of fun coming from that.

"You're now on his list of people to call when there is the chance to play a game…" Elizabeth warned Neal playfully.

Playing cocky, Neal wasn't daunted. "He isn't the only athlete in the family, so I do have some strengths up my sleeve that he doesn't know about yet."

Determined, Peter was going to give him a call the next time there was a chance to play.

Redirecting the conversation, Elizabeth had some questions for Neal. "What name are you going to be using now that you know more of what is going to be happening?"

"Neal Caffrey is still going to be my public name until the purpose of the character is complete, but on the personal front, I am going to be switched over to my birth name and acknowledged as your brother." He answered.

"Are you still going to work with us on the team?" Peter wanted to know if he was still going to get to work with his little brother.

"My assignment is to work with the team for at least as long as I am on this operation… so for the foreseeable future." Neal reassured them.

Letting out the breath that he had been holding, Peter liked the news.

"You aren't getting rid of me so easily, even if I do get reassigned. Who else is going to randomly show up to steal the toy out of your cereal box?" Neal teased.

Smiling, Peter had a different response than he had had in the past. "Just don't flash fake badges in my face all of the time."

Laughing, the group fell into general conversation for the rest of the evening before making their plans for getting together in the morning.

* * *

Hearing the knock on his door, Neal moved to open it. Seeing who his guests were, he wasn't the least bit surprised to see that Peter and Chuck had arrived to haul him off to his storage unit.

"Come on Neal. We are supposed to be picking up your stuff and getting back while Elizabeth and Sarah make lunch." Peter instructed.

Stretching, Neal was amused by his bossy elder brother. "So, this has become a party has it?"

"Yep, Sarah and I are on board for getting to know you better too." Chuck agreed. "Besides, since we are assigned to be your backup protection, we are going to be around for a bit anyway."

"How is your business at home being taken care of while you are here?" Neal asked as he grabbed a few things for the day.

"Why do you think Morgan hasn't been harassing you?" Chuck answered with a question.

"Huh, it has been very quiet." Neal noted. Noticing that Peter was remaining rather quiet too, he wasn't surprised to see him sipping on a cup of June's Italian roast. "Help yourself Peter." He teased knowing that Peter had gotten it from his breakfast.

"Thank you… I already did." Peter smirked.

Grabbing a cup for himself, Chuck decided to have a sample of the reputed coffee. "Mmm, this is good."

Huffing at their behavior, Neal finished grabbing his things before grabbing a cup to go. "I might as well grab some before you two finish it off."

Taking that as an invitation, Peter and Chuck did just that.

With the coffee finished, the group took off in Peter's car for the trip to the storage unit.

Settling into the car, Peter asked for directions and programmed their destination into his GPS. Navigating the city traffic, he settled back and listened to the conversation around him while occasionally participating himself.

"Do you still have that t-shirt that I got you?" Chuck asked.

Listening for more, Peter was interested in the new information.

"Yeah… it's in the box of clothes with the other old favorites. I have several t-shirts, a sweater or two, some sweats, and my old field uniform." Neal confirmed. "Why?"

"Just asking. I still have my matching t-shirt, so I wondered if you had yours." Chuck answered.

Laughing, Neal could imagine them dressing alike in their old joke tees. "I don't think Peter is imagining what we have on those shirts… he is probably expecting something from our school, like the logo or something."

"Huh, he doesn't know about those other interests of yours yet?" Chuck observed.

"Nope, he will soon though… I also know that Elizabeth won't like at least one aspect of it too." Neal teased Peter with nothing substantial to inform him of their conversation topic. He would probably see the nerdy old t-shirt before the day was done, but until then, Neal wanted to mess with him.

Biding his time, Peter patiently waited with the knowledge that Neal would get around to telling him what he was talking about. Like any older sibling, he had quickly learned that patience was the best way to deal with younger sibling's games… eventually they would get bored and give up.

Arriving at the storage unit, Peter found a parking spot where Neal directed him to before the three of them climbed out and started walking towards the unit.

Opening the door, Neal revealed a small space that held all of his personal belongings stacked into neat little piles along one wall. "Well, these are all of my personal worldly processions… this won't take us too long to load."

Looking around at the boxes, Peter and Chuck agreed. It wouldn't even take more than one trip with the car to transport all of it… although it would take a couple of personal trips to move it to said car.

Turning the first box towards him, Peter frowned at the gibberish. "What did you label these in, code?"

Leaning over Peter's shoulder, Chuck read the label and laughed. "Seriously, you labeled your boxes in that?"

Shrugging, Neal wasn't ashamed. "Why not? It ensures that my brother won't get nosy and try to figure out what is in a box because the label looks like it might be interesting." He teased Peter.

Throwing a previous conversation at Neal, Peter wasn't fazed by the teasing accusation. "Of course not. Remember, it's only interesting because it's your stuff, so I might just have to check things out anyway." Then he smiled as he started back towards the car with his first load.

Stuck for a comeback, it took Neal minute to figure out how to respond. "That was older brother's stuff… I always understood that the younger brother's stuff was always perceived as junk." He shouted after Peter.

Laughing, Chuck balanced his assumption. "It depends on the stuff. Sometimes the older sibling sees treasure where the younger simply sees stuff, and other times you're right in that the older sibling simply perceives the younger sibling's stuff as junk. Ellie used to make me keep stuff that I didn't see the point behind, but she would also try to make me to get rid of the things that I did want, like my figurines."

"Mine are in the box that Peter just took… he would understand if they were famous baseball players, but I don't think that he is going to see why I like so many nerdy things."

"His loss." Chuck said which caused Neal to smile with him.

Passing Peter with his box, Neal smirked at Peter. "Were you even tempted to see what was in the box?" He tested.

"Other boxes of books?" Peter guessed. He had peaked enough to know that there were other boxes dividing the contents, but not enough to know what was in the boxes.

"Note to self, take more precaution if I want to keep you out of my stuff." Neal mocked in a serious voice.

Playing along, Peter replied. "Remember, I am FBI, they are being stored on my property, and I am now your big brother."

"He's got you there." Chuck said as he followed shortly behind Neal.

"I'm not so sure on that one…" Neal was already trying to devise ways to mess with Peter and keep him out of his stuff if he seriously wanted to.

Adding the boxes to the trunk, Neal and Chuck walked back to the unit. Walking in, they were just in time to see the bottom come open on the box that Peter was carrying. Dismayed, Neal watched as his clothes fluttered to the ground.

"That tape has been on them for some years… apparently it gave out." Then he impulsively tagged on another comment. "Or did you weaken it while we were walking back for a perfectly staged accident?" He asked Peter.

Raising a brow at him, Peter was skeptical. "Do you really think that I am so desperate to see your old t-shirt that I would take the time to devise such a plan?"

Holding up the t-shirt from their earlier conversation, Neal joked. "Hey, a tee that says 'Nerdy' from the periodic table is pretty cool."

Snorting, Peter found himself amused. "That is the tee in question?"

"It is a cool tee…" Chuck defended. "I not only bought him one, but I have one myself." And to prove his point, he opened his jacket to show that he was actually wearing it.

"Good idea." Neal pulled his tee on over the long sleeve shirt that he had been wearing.

Shaking his head, Peter found himself amused by their humor, even though he didn't entirely share it. "I'm more of a numbers man myself." He admitted to his inner nerd.

Teaming up, the three of them had the clothes folded and placed back into the box fairly quickly.

Once they were heading towards the car with another load, Peter joked. "No wonder we could never catch you on foot…"

"He was a track star for a reason." Chuck agreed.

* * *

Thank you everyone for reading, commenting, leaving kudos, and choosing to favorite :D


	2. Chapter 2

**Cooking Conversations**

* * *

Elizabeth had found a good working rhythm with Sarah. The two women did a great job of taking the client's wishes and finding a way of making them come about. Transitioning that into the kitchen, Elizabeth tried to find how they best worked together in the informal environment.

Since Sarah didn't have the same level of experience in the kitchen, she chose to take a supportive role by helping Elizabeth while answering more of her questions. In the privacy of the Burke home, it was the second time that they had really had a girl's only opportunity to talk some things through.

In exchange for the help, Elizabeth shared various tips from time to time and showed Sarah how to cook some new dishes.

Asking more about Chuck and Sarah's relationship, Elizabeth looked to get to know her better. "How did you meet Chuck?"

Laughing softly, Sarah smiled at Elizabeth's questioning glance. "Neal has always held Chuck in high regard, so when he needed help from someone that he could trust; he sent what he was protecting to him. Since I was Neal's partner, I was to retrieve the item and find out why he had sent it to Chuck... I had no idea what I would discover." She paused as she smiled at the fond memory. "When I first walked into that electronic store, I thought Chuck was just some geeky guy who would make an easy mark, so I created a few minor issues on my phone for him to repair. To my surprise, he was nerdy and charming as he fixed my phone, but it was what he did after that that caught my personal attention. You see, a man hadn't put a tape in his digital camera, so he hadn't taped his daughter's ballerina recital for his wife. In a complete panic, he turned to Chuck for help, and Chuck obliged. Naturally, he took over the wall of televisions for a back drop, lined up the camera, and had a coworker tape the girl's performance while he gave her words of encouragement. He was so sweet and caring… something that I had never seen in anyone before."

Appreciating the cuteness of the scene, Elizabeth could easily see how that would change a person's whole perspective of someone else. Knowing why, she was curious as to the how, so she asked, "How did you start dating?"

Continuing the story, Sarah answered. "When I couldn't retrieve the item through stealth, I put my focus back on getting to know Chuck and I persuaded him to take me out as I was new in the city. Agreeing to show me around, we made plans, and things got started."

Seeing that Elizabeth was going to ask anyway, Sarah continued into the first date description. "That was definitely an unforgettable first date. While we were eating, he was so easy to talk to that I almost blew my cover and talked about Neal… I changed his name just in time but, despite my near slip and his awkwardness, Chuck simply focused on saying what I needed to hear. Then we went to a local music hot spot where things got interesting." Pausing again, she detailed some of the back history for the next part of the story. "The item in question was also under the protection of another agency, particularly a rival of Neal's and mine… and back then we didn't get along, so when he attacked, I fought for Chuck."

When she paused again, Elizabeth continued to stir the dish and prompted her to continue. "And?"

Amused, Sarah simplified the details of the scenes that followed. "As we were dancing, Chuck was oblivious to the knife fight that I was engaged in, even though he was literally right in the middle of it, but he became very aware that something was going on when I drug him out with the other team chasing us. We had a high speed chase backwards down a main street, the adult version of bumper cars, a foot chase, gun play, and the reveal that Chuck's whole life was changing again because of Neal's actions. Despite being on the verge of freaking out, Chuck pulled it together, figured out a bomb threat, led Casey and I to the location, used the latest computer virus to defuse a rather large bomb with only one second to spare, and, to use the colonel's compliment, he didn't even puke on the C4. The next morning, Chuck chose to use what Neal had sent him to help people, so we were all three assigned to work as a team."

Enjoying the insight into the team protecting her, Elizabeth continued to prompt the conversation. "Do you like your team?"

"Yes. In the beginning, it was just an assignment. I got a job acrossed the parking lot and pretended to be Chuck's girlfriend; while Casey moved into the same apartment complex and got a job at the same electronic store. Over the years, we've had a lot of rough patches, but we have taken down a lot of bad guys, became family, and my relationship with Chuck became real."

Elizabeth had been wondering since Chuck said that they would be in touch, so she carried the conversation into their family relationships. "What is his family like?

Caught off guard, it took Sarah a moment to understand whose family she was asking about. "Chucks? They're great. Stephen and Mary have been field agents for years. Stephen has been supposedly killed a few times, but we recently found him alive again so it is nice to see them together for the first time in decades. Then there is Chuck's older sister, Ellie. She is very protective of him, having raised him much of their childhood, and her husband has picked up the big brother role well. They have a daughter, and a few years ago they relocated to a Chicago hospital in need of some great surgeons, so they aren't around as much as they used to be. And I can't forget Chuck's first best friend, Morgan. He has been around since they were in the third grade and loves to be considered the little brother in Chuck's family. Surprisingly, Morgan is engaged to Casey's daughter and that kind of ties the lot of us together as two families connected together by friendship."

"I like the sound of them. They seem like a great family. Peter gets the feeling that Neal had a rough childhood, so it is good to know that he has good friends out there." Elizabeth was grateful to know that Neal was supported by such people.

Sarah smiled with tears in her eyes again. "From what I understand, Neal doesn't have much of anything to his name… any of them. When he supposedly betrayed Chuck, he alienated every friend he had, including Chuck. Then his work, if nothing else, has taken him away from his adopted family. Even our team has been out of touch with him for several years. Combine that with everything that he has done for us, and we owe him."

Able to step away from the food, Elizabeth moved to take Sarah into a hug as she was getting more emotional.

"I married into a family that he has been protecting for over a decade." Taking a deep breath, Sarah dealt with a mix of emotions. "We spent our flight here researching what he has been doing and learned that while he was playing a con with you guys, he was also working to lay the ground work for us to take down three major enemies. In addition, he was spying on us in order to arrange for things to help keep us safe… we learned that from my father in law. Besides, he is technically one of our team, so we owe it to him to watch his back. Right now the best way to do that is to help keep his family safe."

Letting Sarah go, Elizabeth asked. "Have you talked to Neal about all of this?"

Regaining her composure, Sarah stepped back. She was opening up to Elizabeth as she really liked her, but she was still not as comfortable with the Burkes as with the Bartowskis. "Yeah, we have talked to him a couple of times… he doesn't feel that we owe him anything. I know what he means, that he isn't looking for reward or compensation, but we can't help feeling that we owe him something."

* * *

Making a ruckus of noise as they started hauling boxes into the house, the guys started stacking the boxes inside the door as a transitional point. Then once they were all inside the house, they began the task of moving them up the stairs to the attic where Neal arranged them as he chose.

When they had completed the task, the guys moved back downstairs to see how lunch was progressing.

"That smells good hon." Peter greeted Elizabeth with a kiss.

Ignoring the couples around him, Neal simply grabbed some of the finger food to try since no one was paying attention to him for a moment.

Feeling his phone vibrate, Neal looked at the text. Throwing a confused glance at Chuck, he waived his phone and asked, "Why is Morgan threatening to sick his father in law to be on me if I ever mess up again, and just how did he come to be connected to Casey? "

Laughing, Chuck answered. "Casey's real name is Alex, he has a daughter named after him, and she is engaged to Morgan."

"Great… so the two allies who hate me most will soon be family… that is so not going to bode well for me in the long run." Neal sighed.

Concerned, that had Peter's full attention. "What?"

"Relax everyone." Chuck tried to reassure them. Then he turned to Neal. "Casey won't admit it, but he actually respects you, and Morgan thinks you're 'awesome.' He just doesn't want to see you hurt me… even in appearance, so he wants to make his point known." Then he shrugged, "Besides, they both know that I won't allow them to do anything."

"Thanks…" then Neal smirked, "So, now you're protecting me from the wrath of your own team if necessary?"

Shrugging too, Chuck smiled. "Of course, you're my friend too."

Exchanging smiles, the two relaxed the group as they changed the conversation towards their afternoon activities.

"So, are we going to watch a game, or are we going to stand around here?" Neal said. Although he wasn't a fan, it was preferable to having them all digging through his personal background.

"What's with the matching shirts?" Elizabeth asked as she noticed them.

Throwing their arms acrossed each other's shoulders, Neal and Chuck smiled as they pointed at each other's chests.

"Aren't they cool?"

"Chuck gave this to me back in school. It's been in my storage unit for years."

"And here you were nervous at the idea of practically moving in… you know, you can store those clothes in the guest room dresser. That closet already has two of your suits in it anyway." Elizabeth offered. Then she added on as a joke. "Just don't think I'm going to be your maid to do your laundry for you."

"Don't worry about it El, I'll probably just leave them up in the attic and out of your way." Neal tried to avoid the feeling of intruding on their space.

"If you do, I will go digging through your boxes until I find them, and then I will organize them into the dresser my own way. Don't make me force you to feel welcome." She threatened while moving to poke him in the chest pointedly. "You are our brother now, as well as our friend, and we want to see you around here more often. So if occasionally washing an extra couple articles of clothing is part of that, then I really don't mind."

Surprised, Neal stared at her with a startled expression.

Patting his brother on the shoulder, Peter helped to encourage Neal. "You might want to get that done before she goes through with her threat. I just might help her to see what else you have in those boxes because you labeled them in code."

"Meaning that I should get on that…" Neal felt a little awkward still.

Switching his direction, Peter grabbed his shoulder. "Come on, I'll help you get that box down."

"And I'll go make sure that there isn't anything in the way." Elizabeth said.

"Do you need any help, El?" Sarah volunteered. She was curios despite herself.

"Well… I'll pick the choice food and find which seat feels the most comfortable while I wait." Chuck joked.

* * *

Upstairs, Peter walked through the attic with Neal until they reached the corner with his stuff.

Stopping Neal, he held his hands on his shoulders to make sure that he was listening. "Neal, you are our brother and friend. I know this feels awkward for you, because we are adjusting as well, but we really do want you to feel welcome and come around here. The dresser isn't used, so it is a good place for you to keep some clothes. This is a safe place where you can be yourself, and it doesn't hurt to have some spare clothes here just in case, so that takes care of two things at once."

"I get it, but I also don't want to intrude on your personal space." Neal said.

"No, you don't get it. You _are_ personal Neal. As my brother and friend, you are a part of my personal life, and therefore welcome in my personal space!" Peter tried to get him to believe that. Pulling him into a hug, he held Neal close to reinforce that he was welcome.

Slowly, Neal raised his arms and returned the hug. He was adjusting, but it was still new to have a family, to lower the barriers between his real self and others, and to have others willing to see that person while welcoming him into their personal lives.

Releasing Neal after a few moments, Peter was glad to see that he was adjusting. There was still a long ways to go before Neal would be completely open with him, but Neal was working to let his walls down and accept that his family did want to have him around.

"I actually left the clothes box in the front to make it more accessible if I did need any spare clothes for any reason." Neal explained that he had already taken the spare clothes angle into account.

"Then let's get it downstairs. There wasn't much in the drawers but a few random things stored there until we could find better homes for them, so the others are probably waiting for us." Peter moved to help Neal navigate carrying the box down before he held back to close up the attic.

Moving into the guest room, Neal saw that Sarah and Elizabeth had cleared out the dresser to make room for his meager clothing collection. "There was no reason to clean them all out, I don't even have enough to really fill a single drawer, yet alone three."

"You should bring at least a few more articles of clothing then to make sure that you have what you need for a couple of spare outfits." Elizabeth informed him.

Noting her point, Neal didn't want to talk about that yet, so he moved to open the box and began to pull things out. Placing them neatly in the bottom drawer, he sorted them as he liked.

"You used to run in track?" Elizabeth asked as she looked at his field uniform.

"Yeah, I got a scholarship off of it." Neal generalized his athleticism.

Snorting, Sarah didn't say what she knew about that, despite being tempted. Instead, she chose to let him tell his family in his own time. "Chuck has told me some stories about that, but I'll yet you tell them when you are ready."

Nodding gratefully at her, Neal acknowledged that he was glad she hadn't detailed just how much he had gotten out of track.

Taking Neal from the spotlight, he could tell that he had had enough for one day, Peter rallied the group together for the game. "Let's go get some food before Chuck takes all of the choice snacks. The game will be on in a few minutes."

As the others filed out and headed downstairs, Peter held back to talk to Neal as they walked down the stairs. "What I learned about you today is that you are nerdy enough to label your processions in some kind of code, and to never race you… I'll probably lose by the sounds of it."

Laughing at the added humor, Neal threw a grateful glance at Peter. "Thanks. Opening up is something that I have been trained not to do since a very young age, it isn't easy to drop my barriers."

"You're welcome, and don't worry about it Neal. We aren't really going to push you, but we do want to get to know you as you feel comfortable." Peter said.

"Not going to push me, huh?" Neal teased in reference to the dresser incident.

"We aren't 'really' going to push you Neal, really is the key word, but we will push you some if you make us." Peter clarified. "Part of being a family is supporting each other, and by giving you a place to land as yourself, we are supporting you for who you really are instead of the character that you portray to the world. So for that, we will push you to take advantage of us in a few minor ways that let us do that in your life."

Dropping the topic for the time being, the group found Chuck settled into his chosen seat with his selection of snacks while he played on his phone.

Taking a few moments to get their own foods and places, the rest of the group settled in to watch the game together, even though some spent more time reading or playing on their phones. Still, the group enjoyed the meshed activities and relaxed as a bonding group. Neal had drawn them together initially, but they were becoming an extended family by choice.

* * *

Thank you everyone for reading, reviewing/commenting, following, leaving kudos, and choosing to favorite me and my stories :D

Hey everyone, I want to give you a heads up that my grandma was just diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. I intend to keep up my postings once a week as the material is written anyway, but there maybe times when I am either delayed or have to skip a week due to family matters. My household is the only family local to take care of her and she is an integral part of our circle because she is not only family but a friend. Please bear with me as this is going to be hard personally and stressful combined with everything else. Thanks for your understanding.


	3. Chapter 3

**Office Chatter**

* * *

Settling into his desk for the day, Peter started going through the paperwork that he was still behind on. Seeing that some of it was from their current case, he couldn't help but remember how all of the changes had started.

 _The team was working a routine case of investment fraud. It was only different from the typical case in the size of the operation. Instead of one person, it was a whole company of persons arranging investments for investors who were either new to the market, persons who were trusting in them to be the 'new thing' in the hopes getting better returns, or persons who simply didn't exist which was another avenue to investigate._

 _Neal was placed undercover as a new customer seeking to invest in the hopes of making it big. He pretended to be young and naïve, so it was easy for him to use his charm and enthusiasm to gain broader access to investment opportunities. (On the surface, it looked like he was making great investments, but really, they were illegally profiting off of him)._

 _Once the evidence was captured, Peter led the take down team and began processing the case for closure._

 _While the agents were making their arrest and collecting data, a man dressed in black swept through the crowd with a knife. Passing by Peter and Neal, he swiftly struck small cuts on each of the men's arms._

 _Some agents automatically went into pursuit, only to lose the man in the crowds outside of the building, while other agents focused on Peter and Neal._

 _At first Peter and Neal assured everyone that they were alright, 'it's just a small cut' and agreed to get it checked out. Then the two began to react to the poison that had been coated on the blade and had entered their blood streams through the cuts. As the situation worsened, Jones and Diana fought to keep the two alive until the paramedics were able to arrive._

 _Both men continued to get worse on the way to the hospital, and were dying by the time the doctors settled them into rooms for their loved ones to say goodbye. When they beat the odds and survived anyway, Peter and Neal went through extensive testing to understand how they were able to overcome the death sentence._

Getting the call for the meeting, he moved with Chuck and Neal to see what the team had discovered while they were otherwise occupied and distracted.

* * *

"We have more information on Xander 'Blade' Russell." Jones said. "Blade seems to have come from a rough family environment with several counts of abuse, drugs, and investigations into child abandonment. When he was thirteen, protective services were going to take him away so he struck out on his own. Growing up on the streets, he fell into bad company and has only continued to get into trouble. Based on some old police reports, he witnessed some events of police brutality as well. Combine that with his friends on the street teaching him that law enforcement hinders free spirits, and he quickly became a problem."

Pausing to pull up some police reports, Jones detailed some more information into Blade's perspective. "Based on the talk from the CIs, Blade sees law enforcement as a suppressive force that is working to keep the masses under their rule. As a result, he takes every opportunity to rebel by committing petty crimes, and minor attacks that are primarily directed at police. During their escalating heists, his mentors gave him a knife, and told him to keep the police from responding by distracting them."

Taking another moment to pull up some pictures, Jones showed how he distracted the police. "He began by cutting their tires so that they couldn't respond to the alarms, and so that back up would have to come from a greater distance, thereby giving his crew time to complete their tasks. When the cops started getting wise to the strategy, he escalated the situation by starting to physically cut the police. Since the injuries were intended to hurt, but not kill, only a few officers ended up in the hospital while most were checked out before being released. That led to the officers taking precautions as police in uniform are his favorite targets."

Picking up from there, Diana added the details that she had been able to discover. "According to chatter on the street, Blade was recently approached by someone with an offer of financial gain if he would take out Peter and Neal before they discovered too much information behind their case. Apparently, someone knew that they were our lead people on this, so they were targeted as the lead agent and lead person undercover. Unfortunately, we haven't yet been able to figure out who this person is, or how they connect to the investment fraud case. Since the financial side disappears into the black market, we assume that there is some kind of money laundering going on and that we have disrupted someone's monetary supply."

Taking the lead to finish the meeting, Hughes gave out the assignments. (He had been taking a more hands on position in the case due to the situation). "Jones and Diana, I want you to continue pursuing Blade. If we can find him, not only can we charge him with attempted murder, but we might be able to get information on who his contact is. Peter and Neal, since Neal has these mysterious contacts in government, see if anyone can shed any light on that black market side or discover who this contact might be. We are going to get these people, but we need more information before we can solve this case." Dismissing the team, he retreated to his office and the others went about their work.

* * *

Back in his office, Peter was zoning out into his own world while Neal was off checking with secret sources.

Chuck was on his computer doing his own thing on the other side of the desk, so he observed Peter. "Hmm…" He made a sound from his side.

At Peter's questioning look, he continued. "You are obviously struggling with this, but he appears to be having his own challenges."

"What brought that up?" Peter questioned the sudden choice in conversation.

Tilting his head at Peter, Chuck seemed to ignore his question by changing the subject again. "You're a lot like him you know?"

Surprised, Peter asked what he meant.

"Neal… has lived by the motto of doing the right thing as long as I have know him, and he said in the park that you live by that standard as best as you can. From what I can tell, you both have athletic interests, backgrounds in advanced mathematics, government careers, love of puzzles and fun, and there is something to your humor that reminds me of him. There are probably more similarities, and those have their difference when you go deeper, but you still have the vibe of brothers going."

"Thank you." Looking at Neal's empty desk below, and then at Chuck, Peter looked grateful for the comparisons. It helped to reaffirm in his mind that they were brothers. "A part of me has wrapped my heart around him being my brother easily, he was already family. It's getting my head used to the change that I am struggling with. This has all happened so fast and there is so much that I don't know… he was right when he said this is a lot to take in."

"And that is what I meant by you both struggling." Chuck swerved back to the first point of his conversation.

Trying to catch up, but not seeing the point, Peter's expression questioned what Chuck meant.

"My point, is that you are struggling to get your head to catch up to your heart with the new situation of Neal being your brother. Meanwhile, Neal's heart wants to open up to you because he trusts you, but his head keeps telling him to be careful and his job restricts how much he can share. You keep working to rethink of him as a government employee instead of the criminal that you caught, and he keeps battling his past where he has been betrayed and hurt many times. You are coming from different directions, but yet you are obviously brothers in some of the ways that you are handling your struggles."

Feeling a tension loosening in his system, Peter realized that Chuck had noticed and solved the tension before he had even realized that it was there. "So, I shouldn't feel like he is struggling to open up to me, because he is actually struggling to overcome his past." Peter summarized what he was getting from Chuck's words.

"Exactly, you've been wondering why he is struggling to take small steps of opening up to you, but you have also been struggling to drop small things that are ingrained habits. All you have to do for him is to keep doing what you're doing. Be the big brother that he can rely on, and he will continue to open up to you as he is ready." Chuck finished his point.

Smiling, Peter thanked Chuck again. "Neal said that you tended to do that with people, especially the people that you care about."

"Do what?" Chuck didn't know what he was talking about.

"Help people. Neal said that you used your childhood issues as lessons to understand and help other people." Peter complimented Chuck.

Shrugging off the compliment, Chuck didn't feel that he deserved it for simply doing what felt natural to him.

Reverting to their tasks again, the two of them settled back into the work and conversation switched to only being the necessary for their case.

* * *

Elizabeth and Sarah were working alone in her office. There weren't any clients to meet for the afternoon, so Elizabeth had delegated her staff to working on their paperwork in an effort to catch up some aspects of the business. Tackling her part, Elizabeth had Sarah help her in her effort to catch up from all of her time off.

"There is a lot to do in owning your own business isn't there." Sarah empathized.

"I don't think there is an aspect of it that doesn't have some form of paperwork to keep up with." Elizabeth sighed as she continued to work through the daunting pile.

"Try running a private contracting business that frequently works in tandem with the government… the paperwork often needs to be done in triplicate in order to satisfy government standards." Sarah smiled as she made the work seem lighter than it could be.

Since the subject of their work in relation to the government had come up again, Elizabeth asked one of the big questions that was still bothering her. "If you don't mind my asking, would you define more of why you quit working for the government?" She was cautious as she asked.

Taking a few moments to think through how she ought to word her answer, Sarah tried to come up with a way to satisfy Elizabeth's concerned interest.

Tensing for what was obviously going to be something bad, Elizabeth almost regretted asking. Still, knowing the truth would help her to understand these new friends better and give her more understanding of how to interact with them.

Answering like a report, Sarah tried to remain fairly factual in an effort to distance herself from the memories. "An agent in a position of control left me dying in a hospital and refused to do anything to help. Fighting for my life, my husband and team technically became traitors to save me." She paused for a moment as she tried to gather her composure again. It was a very difficult subject for her. "The agent said that my father in law's death, my near death, everything that has happened to Neal… that all of it was simply the elites playing a game of chess… with us being of no more value than pawns in a bigger game."

Gasping, Elizabeth had known that it wasn't going to be good, but she was horrified to hear what Sarah had been through. In addition, she had alluded to Neal having been through something terrible too. Not ready to ask about that, she continued to ask about Sarah. "How can you have anything to do with the government after that?" After everything that Sarah had shared, Elizabeth was surprised to see her smile slightly.

"Because of agents like your husband. Like Neal, I have a team that I love, and a boss that I can trust. Although I don't currently plan on going back into official government work, I don't mind working in tandem with agents that I can trust."

"That is why Neal has his trust issues isn't it? I mean, he has been through some bad situations before, so he is trying to be careful of whom he trusts?" Elizabeth also tried to understand Neal better too. He was obviously having trouble opening up to her and Peter, was this why?

"Yes. The last time I saw him, he was betrayed and nearly died because of it. He has dealt with a lot of messes in just the situations that I know of. Luckily, Neal has his big brother to watch his back now." Sarah tried to lighten up the mood as the conversation had gotten strained with emotional tension.

Unable to focus on the papers before her, Elizabeth sat in a horrified silence. "Neal… nearly died from a betrayal?"

Moving to comfort Elizabeth, Sarah mimicked some of what she had learned from Ellie. "Yes, he did." Getting Elizabeth's attention, Sarah had more to say. "Elizabeth, Neal has nearly died more times than you will ever want to know about, but each time, he has saved countless lives. Maybe, someday, Neal will both be allowed, and ready, to tell you something of what he has done. Until then, I hope you can trust that Neal does what he does to protect others."

Shaken, Elizabeth had a new detail about Neal to adjust too. "Although I don't like the danger that entails, I can't help but be proud of the person that Neal keeps turning out to be"

After taking a few moments to calm her emotions, Elizabeth picked the conversation back up. "How did Chuck adjust to all of this?"

"It took a while and a lot of rough patches, but we reached a point where we were able help Chuck believe in himself. While we were helping him, he helped to ground us with a safe atmosphere of family and acceptance." She paused for a few moments before she decided to add. "Neal didn't know how it would work out, but his actions have made all of our lives better because he caused our team to be brought together."

"Why wouldn't your team work well together?" Elizabeth had only seen them as a family group, so she didn't understand their early relationships.

"Casey is a soldier and agent who has worked as an assassin, which means that he needs to be cold and distant. My reputation has given me nicknames like the director's 'finisher,' a 'wild card,' and rescuing Chuck once earned me the nickname 'big blonde she man,' so I wasn't exactly the easiest person to work with. Then Chuck… he was this kind hearted nerd who loves his family, playful, loyal, a genius, and so many other good qualities that he seemed to be at odds with Casey and me. Even Chuck's depression from what Neal had done four years prior, and languishing as an underachiever with no faith in himself, didn't stop Chuck from getting Casey's and my attention as someone special." Having described who they were then, she finished her answer. "We were so different back then, it wasn't likely that we would make a long term team… but Chuck changed that, by changing us."

"Chuck does seem to be like that. I've noticed that he likes to watch out for people and he seems to have a calming effect on Neal too." Elizabeth mentioned her observations.

"Neal and Chuck have been friends for a long time, so Neal trusts him a great deal. In fact, he said that he trusts Peter just as much as he trusts Chuck." Smiling at Elizabeth encouragingly, Sarah continued. "He even seems to trust you and I nearly as much. That is a big compliment coming from Neal."

Relaxing in the knowledge that Neal did trust her and Peter, in the knowledge that she was gaining a better understanding of Chuck and Sarah, and relishing her growing relationship with Neal, Elizabeth had a few more hurdles in the recent changes overcome.

Having dealt with some personal emotions, they transitioned into their next task with a strengthened friendship.

"Do you want to join us for dinner tonight? We need to test another caterer before we have our meeting tomorrow and the more taste buds the better." Elizabeth offered.

Laughing slightly, Sarah was a willing guinea pig. "Chuck and I would love to. However, Peter doesn't seem to be too interested in these things based on his reaction to the snacks with the game last Saturday."

Smiling, Elizabeth explained. "No, Peter isn't always too thrilled to try the 'fancy' snacks." Getting a little mischievous, Elizabeth added. "That is how I came to be friends with Neal. He rather enjoys trying new foods and giving me his opinion on which ones are good and which ones I should skip over."

Seeing the humor, Sarah understood. "So although they are brothers and similar in many ways, that is one of their differences."

"It is. The brothers seem to have differences in their taste for fancy foods." Elizabeth noted.

Completing their paperwork, the two closed the office down after the others had gone home. Making a quick stop to pick up the order, they headed to the Burkes where they would meet the guys for dinner.

Settling in for another evening, they simply enjoyed the food and friendly banter as they critiqued the food and services of the caterer.

* * *

Thank you everyone for reading, reviewing/commenting, leaving kudos, following, and choosing to favorite :D

To those who have extended their condolences and have kept my family in their prayers, I want to extend a special thanks to you as well!


	4. Chapter 4

**Reminiscing**

* * *

Curling up on the couch, Peter was lost in his own world, so Elizabeth let her mind wonder in the comfort of her husband's arms.

She had worked through some of her memories from the attack, but she still had some scenes to face.

Skipping through the parts where she was told that Peter and Neal were being taken to the hospital, through the terror of being told that they were certainly going to die, she decided to pick back up at the heartbreaking point where she was forced to try and sleep through the night knowing that they might not make it through 'till the morning.

 _Unable to reach a restful sleep, Elizabeth spent the night in a mixture of tears and dreadful nightmares where Peter and Neal were already dead, or breathing their last while she was not with them._

 _In the morning, she insisted on going to the hospital. If Peter was going to die, then she wanted to be with him for every moment possible._

 _Day after day, she went in when the visiting hours started, and was practically drug back to the safe house when the day ended. The comas continued to keep their decline at a reduced pace, but they were still dying despite the doctors best efforts. Each day, she had to go through the horror of watching her friend and beloved husband die a little more, with no hope that they would make it through._

 _Then one day, she was numbly running her fingers through Peter's hair. She couldn't cry as she had worn herself out and the words were too many to express. He was barely alive with nothing more than machines running his body… there was nothing left, but the shell of her husband._

 _Suddenly, the nurse came into the room and requested she go to the hall. Something was going on, so Elizabeth fought to be by her husband's side in those last moments. Two more staff came and took her out where she collapsed in shocked silence. She was too numb to even mourn for her husband._

 _Eventually, she regained her focus to find herself lying on a bed in the neighboring room. Looking around, she was surprised to see the doctor smiling at her. "Before you say anything Mrs. Burke, I have tentatively good news. Their numbers are rising, and they show signs of waking up soon. Despite the odds, your husband and his friend seem to be pulling through."_

 _Overcome, Elizabeth collapsed. To be pulled from such depths of despair, to discovering hope, was too much for her to take at the moment. What if they were to relapse and die, just when she was finally hoping they might survive? Her mind did the best thing it could at the time, it shut off, and she fainted._

 _When she regained consciousness, the doctor ordered Diana and Jones take her home to clean up and rest for a little bit. He would remain by Peter and Neal's sides as he waited for them to wake up, and when they did, he would contact them immediately._

 _Elizabeth was taken to see Peter and Neal before she left to go back to the safe house._

* * *

Chuck was holed away in his room as he tried to use the Intersect to make any further headway on the case, Sarah was out with Theo as they worked street contacts, Casey was guarding Peter and Elizabeth, and this all meant that Neal was alone in his apartment.

Taking the reprieve, Neal pulled the box closer to his chair where he could start looking through the messages from his parents. With thirty years worth of missed mail, it would take him some time to read it all. Keeping that in mind, he decided to start with his baby book as that was where it had all begun.

Turning the pages, it took him a while to read it through. It had started out in anxious excitement as his mother had kept a journal of the party plans and all of her aspirations for her second child.

 _This weekend we are going to have a party to tell your big brother, Peter, and the rest of the family of your impending arrival. Although we don't know if you are going to be a boy or a girl yet, there is no doubt that you are going to be a highly anticipated addition to our family._

Based on how their first weekend together had gone, Neal could generally imagine what it would have been like for his expected arrival to be announced. His mother would have had tears of joy that he was coming, his father would have ignored the financial burden for the sheer joy of another child, and his brother would have begun imagining games that they could play together as he grew up.

For a moment, his mind suddenly had doubts. James had been experiencing financial difficulty when he chose to starting skimming off of the top at busts. Would Isaac have eventually been driven to take extreme measures as well, or was that simply an excuse that James used to try and get away with his crimes? Shaking his head, Neal tried to get the growing fears out of his mind. Isaac wasn't James, they had both faced financial difficulty, but only James had resorted to crime, and Isaac was actually his father so he had more reason to look out for his better interests.

Moving on to the next part of the baby book, Neal read through the parts where his mother fought for her life and his. Page by page, the words got shorter, weaker, and devoid of emotion. She became a sick woman writing about her illness with little hope that she, or her baby, would survive. Those months didn't take long to read.

Once she started to recover, Iris had those pages spotted with sorrowful tears as she still feared for his life.

 _We are to be released tomorrow, and we will finally go home for the first time in weeks! Although I am improving in health, it is greatly feared that my illness may have done its damage to you. The doctors have strict orders and bed rest suggested for the rest of the pregnancy… and maybe, just maybe, you will survive? Knowing that it is questioned by the doctors, I can't help but cry. After so many years longing for another child, your father and I don't want to lose you for the world. If Peter knew, he would also be suffering for fear of your health, but that is one person spared the pain. We have yet to tell your brother about you, but we still hope for you. I will do everything in my power to help you live, and when you are okay, we will then have that party we planned to tell Peter… until then, we need to sleep as rest is a part of healing. So goodnight my baby, we will be going home tomorrow._

Wiping the tears from his eyes, Neal felt his mother's love in a way that he had never experienced before. The woman that he had grown up calling mom, she had ignored him and dwelt in her own cloud of painful emotions. But his real mom, in just simple written words, she conveyed a love for him that had his heart aching with her. If she was in the loft, he would have pulled her into a hug and conveyed his thanks for her determination to fight for his life.

Reading through the end of the book, he found the information about his adoption. Despite knowing the general information, it was still interesting to read through his mother's notes that were written at the time instead of hearing recited facts thirty years later.

 _A nice family from Washington has offered to adopt you. James Bennett is a police officer and has good prospects for climbing the ranks. He seems so excited to have a son… he and your father have been talking about the joys that come with having sons. Then there is his wife, Evelyn, she seems to be full of a quiet excitement. We spent hours talking today, and she seems to be falling in love with you already. For some reason, she wanted to find some kind of similar appearance between you and them, but the best she could find is your eyes. I don't think you have 'the blue of her husband,' but maybe that is just me… because your blue eyes actually remind me of my own._

At least his adopted parents had been happy to have him at one point, but for all of that, it only took three years for them to change their minds.

The notes also explained some of the details about his blue eyes. Evelyn had deluded herself to see something of her husband in him from the beginning, but at least he could now compare himself to his biological mother instead of his betraying adopted father.

* * *

 _She was sleeping when Diana came in and shook her shoulder. "Elizabeth. The doctor thinks that Peter and Neal will be waking up shortly. How about you get a shower, and we'll grab something to eat on the way to the hospital?"_

 _It was the fastest that Elizabeth had ever cleaned up, and the least she had ever tasted her food. Arriving at the hospital, she found that her boys weren't hooked to so many machines. Their color was returning, and they actually looked like they were just sleeping. With tears running down her face, she moved to Peter's side and stared at him. He was going to make it!_

 _After a while she decided to check on Neal as she hadn't even looked at him when she entered the room. Walking over to his bed side, she was thrilled to see that his eyes were cracked open. "Neal?"_

" _Sorry to put you through all of this…we'll be okay you know." He croaked at her, and she barely got what he said._

 _Looking at those blue eyes, she felt the best that she had since this whole mess had begun. Grabbing his hand, she cried on him as she was happy to see him alive and recovering. "You almost weren't… you were both at death's door when you turned around…"_

 _She didn't know that Peter had opened his eyes while she was crying on Neal._

 _As her tears were quieting, Neal squeezed her hand. "I think someone else is awake too… you had better go check on him as he might get jealous." Neal had smiled ever so slightly._

 _Taking his advice, Elizabeth walked back over to Peter and was overjoyed to see that his eyes were open as well. "Peter…" a whole new flush of tears ran down her face as she cried again._

" _We'll be okay hon. We'll be okay." Peter had squeezed her hand comfortingly while mustering up just enough strength to place his other hand on top of her head. "I love you." He whispered as his thumb twitched in her hair._

 _Those were some of the best moments of her life, the first moments where she actually believed that they were going to be alright._

 _Once she remembered that the medical staff would need to check them over, she notified the nurses and was ushered into the hall again._

 _Sitting in the chairs while the doctors looked over their patients, Elizabeth cleaned her face up by wiping away the tears and blowing her nose… then she repeated the action as the tears of joy continued to fall._

 _When Jones and Diana returned from getting their coffee, they handed her one as they took their respective seats._

" _How are they?" was the general question._

" _Awake! The doctors are checking them over now, so hopefully they will have news shortly." Elizabeth managed to get the words out through her emotions._

 _Beaming, Jones congratulated her before walking away to notify June and Mozzie._

 _Diana remained by Elizabeth's side with the promise to call Hughes as soon as Elizabeth was back in with Peter, the team would be thrilled with the news._

" _I should call Peter's parents… they have been worried sick, but as they are visiting family, they haven't been able to make the trip here yet." Elizabeth suddenly remembered. While Diana quietly supported her, she called Iris and Isaac. "He woke up just a few minutes ago. The doctor is in with him now, so I'll have more news in a while." She had had a brief conversation with her in laws as they celebrated the initial good news._

 _Once the doctor came out, he had filled her in on Peter's current condition and told her that his prognosis was beginning to look good. "It turns out that there are a few cases where the victims have survived this, but a minimalistic number compared to those that have been overcome by it. If you and your husband would consent, we would like to do some testing to see if we can discover how they survived."_

 _Peter, Elizabeth, and Neal all consented to the testing, so the doctors began as soon as the patients were strong enough to endure it._

 _From then on out, the time past quickly between socializing around the hospital room, the discomfort of recovering, and the pain of the testing that was going on._

 _Eventually though, the two men recovered enough to return to their homes, and things seemed to settle down beyond the occasional doctor's visit for check-ups or additional testing._

 _Finally, when they were back to working on desk duty, the next curve ball was thrown at them with the discovery of their shared biological bonds._

* * *

Having finished going through the baby book, Neal transitioned into the letter that he had tucked away in the back of it, the letter that his father had given him to share his side of the adoption.

 _Aaron, my boy. The doctors still say that the battle for your life isn't over, that there are more procedures to do before you even stand a chance. I'm sorry to say that I can't afford to give that to you, because I have been out of work for months, but the doctors have another suggestion for how we can work this out. As much as I hate to agree with them, there is nothing more important than you and your safety, so I must give in._

And there was the difference. James had faced financial struggle and he had turned to crime, meanwhile, Isaac had faced financial difficulty and he had adopted his son for a legal means of saving him… no matter how much he hadn't wanted to.

 _Your mother and I have discussed the options, so we reached out to an adoption agency, and the doctors are generally keeping you alive until we can find a way to provide for the procedures that you need._

That must have been a miserable time for him, to be trapped with a dying baby and be unable to do anything to help him. Neal found himself beginning to feel a sense of understanding and respect for his father's strength. The written words showed the emotion as it was fresh, and he had seen how strong it still was, even after thirty years.

 _Our prayers have been answered. A couple has reached out to us from Washington and they are willing to pay for you to have the procedure. With the finances to go ahead, the doctors will begin first thing in the morning._

Those few words were full of relief and contained a great deal of hope. Isaac believed that Neal would survive with the procedure, so this was the point where the worst was over in his mind.

 _Today was a good day, it was the first time that I got to hold you despite the weeks that we have been waiting for you to be healthy enough. You are so small and light compared to what your brother was, but you have already battled for your life for so long. Still, you are quite the little fighter. When the nurse went to take you away, you wrapped your little fingers around mine and opened your eyes at me pleadingly… it broke my heart when she still lifted you out of my arms. The sounds of your cries will probably ring in my ears for as long as I live, and that feeling will never go away. It was like… it was like I had failed you, that I couldn't even keep the nurse from taking you away from me. Then I remembered that you are going to be adopted, and I broke down crying._

Wiping the tears from his eyes again, Neal felt the first stirrings of love for his father. Before, he had connected to him more for being Peter's father than as his own, but to be given such a perspective into his heart, that was the door to a real relationship with the man.

 _The dreaded day has come, and it's worse than we could have ever imagined. James and Evelyn have come to take you away and, based on their request, not only will we never get to see you again, but you will probably never know that we even exist. I held you for the last time, and you looked up at me with those big eyes of yours. It was like you were telling me that you were going to be okay. Feeling your fingers wrap around mine was like your hug goodbye. With my time run out, I kissed your little head, hugged you to my chest, and passed you to your new parents through the tears._

Having reached the end, Neal finished by reading their plans to keep a box for him where they would write to him in the hopes of giving him their words someday. It also covered their decision not to tell Peter for fear of him looking around every corner for the brother that he might never know.

Unable to hold back any longer, Neal took them up on their offer and dialed their number. For the first time, he wanted to have his parents with him through an emotional experience, and he had the means of doing so with a simple dialing of their phone number.

Settling back into his chair, he listened as the phone rang. When he heard his father answer, he opened with the words that Isaac had waited for during the previous thirty years. "Hey dad, I just finished reading your letter and my baby book…"

* * *

Thank you everyone for reading, reviewing/commenting, leaving kudos, following, and choosing to favorite :D


	5. Chapter 5

**The Game**

* * *

"I've got tickets for the game!" Peter said happily.

"What game?" Neal questioned with a smile. "I don't know anything about a game."

"The Harvard Crimsons are playing the Stanford Cardinals this weekend. I went to school at Harvard, so my college roommate asked to see me at the game. He sent me a ticket, so I got two for you and Chuck to come along too." Peter seemed to be excited.

Unable to believe the situation, Neal busted up laughing.

Looking at him, Peter wondered what was so funny.

Gaining control, Neal calmed down enough to speak. "You went to Harvard, they're playing Stanford, and you got tickets to bring Chuck and I to meet your old college roommate… and you don't even know." He continued to smirk at his puzzled older brother.

Shrugging at him, Peter said "Your point?"

"Chuck is my college roommate… from Stanford." Neal finally enlightened him.

Seeing the humor, Peter started to laugh with him. "So, it will be you, your college roommate, and your college competing against me, my college roommate, and our college team… This could be a lot of fun."

Calming down again, but still smiling, Neal liked the sound of it. "A little brotherly competition huh… This will be an interesting view into another aspect of what our childhood might have been like. You have met and started getting to know my best friend, but now I get to meet yours." Then he asked in an afterthought. "Do you think we would have fought over friends as kids?"

Sitting on the edge of his brother's desk, Peter thought about the question. "I don't know… As a kid, I remember some of my friend's younger brothers fighting for my attention, but the age and interests always made a difference." Then he smiled. "With Chuck, I don't want to steal your friend, but I can see myself being friends with him."

"Good, I don't want you to steal my other best friend, but I am happy that you can be friends with him." Neal was glad to hear that his brother enjoyed hanging out with Chuck.

"I hope you don't want to steal Derrick, but I look forward to introducing you to my other best friend. But, I do need to warn you. His father was swindled by a con artist… and he first heard of you as the con artist that I was pursuing." He was embarrassed and upset to admit.

"So, he might see me as a threat, and won't exactly be happy that you brought me along." Neal surmised.

Sighing, Peter wished that things could be different, but he knew that there was no way to bring that about. "Yeah, that is what I am afraid of."

"I think I can take that challenge… Did you know that even Chuck has absolutely hated me for several years?" Neal was determined to rise to the challenge.

"He hated you?" Peter was concerned. "I know something of that has been mentioned before, but explain. Why did he hate you?"

"Yeah, I got him expelled for cheating when he hadn't." Then he added like it was normal. "Oh, and I supposedly slept with his girlfriend."

"Why… what?" Peter was puzzled.

It was Neal's turn to shrug. "He was targeted and his life was being threatened, so I took him off of the radars… which included his girlfriend's bosses. She was ordered to get rid of him, and I was the easiest way for her to do that."

"That... that is so..." Peter didn't know what to think about that.

"My life, Peter. This is how my life tends to go." Neal wasn't upset by it, it was just how life went for him.

Determined to change that, Peter wanted to work on his brother's perspective of his self worth.

* * *

Walking through the ticket line, Peter guided Neal and Chuck to the rendezvous point.

As they approached, Neal saw Derrick's face fall. The man had clearly been looking forward to some special time with his old friend.

"Hey Derrick" Peter greeted his old friend with a hug.

"Peter!" Derrick greeted in return. Then he turned to the others awkwardly standing behind Peter. "Who are your friends?"

Standing proudly, Peter gestured towards Neal. "It turns out that I have a brother… meet Neal Caffrey and his friend Chuck."

Stumped, Derrick didn't know what to say about that. "You have a brother? Since when?"

"Remember when I told you about the school year that my mom was sick?" At Derrick's nod, he continued. "She was pregnant with him during that time, and dad was out of work… he barely survived because his adopted parents paid for the procedures to save his life." Peter still felt a little odd saying that. It wasn't a normal or expected story.

"You didn't know?" Derrick couldn't believe it.

"Not until we were both poisoned in the field and the doctors did extensive testing that revealed our shared genetics." Peter summarized while the others winced behind him.

"Uh, congratulations? You always did want a brother." Derrick wasn't sure how to react. Sure Peter had a brother after all, but did he really have to be a con?

"Thanks." Peter could sense Derrick's mixed feelings.

Transitioning the awkward moment, Chuck suggested that they go find their seats. Eager to be doing something, the others agreed.

* * *

As they walked, Peter noticed that Neal seemed to be looking around more than usual. "Neal?"

Sensing his brother's question, Neal answered carefully as he was aware of Derrick's attention. "I haven't been around my college classmates since we graduated… if we run into anyone, things could get really awkward."

Finding their seats, Peter was between Neal and Derrick. It was an awkward place to be, but he dealt with it as he wanted them to find a means of getting along. Neal didn't have a problem with Derrick, but Derrick had a huge problem with Neal's character.

When Chuck decided to go grab some food, Peter volunteered to go with him in order to give Neal and Derrick a chance to talk without him present.

"Do you want anything Neal?" Peter asked.

Since it was a baseball game, Neal told Peter to get him whatever he felt was appropriate for the occasion.

Mouthing to his brother, Peter reminded him not to hold Derrick's opinion against him too baldly. Then he went with Chuck to get the food.

"You're the lucky one you know." Derrick said. "Peter is a good friend and has always been like a brother to me. I watched out for him in school because he is a little younger than me and I have two younger brothers of my own, so it felt natural." Then he turned to Neal. "He told me about you when he was chasing you… I will be nice to you because you are his brother, but don't expect me to like you or welcome you into my home, because that is never going to happen!"

Neal nodded. "I accept your terms, and I know that I am incredibly lucky. Not only do I get to be friends with Peter, but I get to have him as a brother." He paused for a moment. "And I understood your perspective of him, I really do. You see, Chuck was my college roommate, and I have watched out for him for years." Turning, he extended his hand to seal the deal. When Derrick took it, he shook his hand briefly. "Thank you, Peter hoped that we could at least get along."

"Tolerate is more like it." Derrick huffed.

"I can deal with that." Neal said as he settled in to watch the game.

* * *

Returning with the food for him and Neal, Peter could see that they had at least come to an agreement. Sure they weren't smiling and laughing like friends, but he didn't expect that. "Here is your food Neal." He tried to pass it over. When Neal didn't respond, he called his name again. "Neal?"

Startled, Neal looked relieved to see him. Accepting the food, he tried to act like nothing had happened.

"What is going on?" Peter's intuition sensed that something was wrong.

"After you left, someone tried to rob the concession stand." Neal stated the fact.

"How do you know that?" Derrick questioned suspiciously.

Pointing to his ear, Neal signaled the answer.

"Ear pieces? Have you and Chuck been wearing them ever since he has been here?" Peter questioned.

"Yeah, he gave them to me when you weren't looking. It's just a way to keep in touch without the obvious things, like our phones." Sighing, he continued lower so that only their party could hear. "There is a reason that the agencies sent a body guard Peter. Remember, there are a lot of people out to kill me, so it is important that Chuck and I keep in touch… just in case anything happens."

Accepting the explanation, Peter asked. "Is everything okay down there?"

"Peter… Chuck maybe a civilian contractor now, but he can still handle three amateurs." Neal commented. "Besides, the police have shown up and are taking over."

"Then why were you nervous?" Peter asked.

"Because, neither of us knew where you were, or if that was a distraction for something else." Neal answered easily.

"Do you really think that these people would use me to get to you?" Peter questioned.

"They used Chuck's sister to kill his father… so yeah, they would use you to get to me." Neal shuddered.

"I thought he was alive?" Peter asked.

"He is, but he wasn't always." Neal refused to say anything more.

* * *

Although they were late to arrive, eventually the people for the seats in front of them showed up. As they figured out who was sitting where and how to arrange their belongings, one of them was moving to lay his jacket on the seat right in front of Neal.

"Bryce?" The man was shocked. "You're supposed to be dead!"

Closing his eyes briefly, and mentally face palming, Neal wasn't surprised by his luck. "Jake." He acknowledged. The man was going to know anyway, as soon as Chuck returned.

"How dare you! After what you did to Chuck, you should be ashamed to show you face around in public." He seethed.

"An old classmate of yours?" Peter questioned smoothly from beside him.

"Yeah, meet Jacob Lawson. Jacob, meet Peter. He's my brother." Neal introduced them.

"Brother?" The man spluttered. "You don't have a brother!"

"Yeah, he does." Chuck answered as he stood at the end of the row waiting for them to notice him. Moving into his seat, he settled in next to Neal.

"Chuck?" Jacob was speechless.

"He saved my life with his actions, and he had nothing to do with Jill. Stop hating him, I have."

"What?" Jacob didn't know how to respond to that. "How is getting you expelled for cheating, when you didn't cheat, saving your life?"

Shrugging, Chuck answered vaguely. "My test scores had attracted attention. By the time Bryce caught on to what was happening, there wasn't anything else that he could do." Then he tagged on. "Oh, and you didn't see him here. Bryce is still dead as far as the world in concerned."

Completely confused, Jacob stood there speechless.

Taking pity on an old friend, Neal told him the least that he could without endangering him. "I work for the government. If certain people find that I am still alive, then I'll be dead again, and my family that I just learned about will be in danger." Looking at him honestly, he continued. "I'm not asking you to understand or forgive me, just that you leave the situation alone for your sake, and my family's."

"Don't worry about him Jake. I know who he actually is, what was going on in college, and the current situation." Chuck added on.

Breathing deeply, their old friend was still trying to catch up. "So, we ostracized you, for nothing?" He questioned Neal.

Shrugging, Neal didn't take offense. "I did get him expelled, so you were half right."

Nudging him in the side, Chuck didn't like how he took it so lightly. "Your actions helped to keep the secret Jake. Now, our families all depend on the secret being kept… our very lives depend on it."

Looking sorrowfully at Neal, Jacob apologized. "I'm so sorry man… the things that we did to you. We thought that we were defending a friend, we had no idea…"

"Don't worry about it. The people that were going after Chuck… some of them would have killed me for doing what I did, so your actions really did help to save my life and protect his." Neal had dealt with it in perspective at the time, so he had no regrets.

As the game heated up, the group paid little attention. Neal, Chuck, and Jacob were making up for lost time as they talked; while Peter and Derrick made up for lost time between getting involved with the other's conversation.

* * *

When the game came to an end, Peter was happy to see that the Crimsons had beat the Cardinals… he had won the bet with Neal.

Packing up, Jacob was saying goodbye to the group. "Hey, can I keep in touch?" He nervously asked.

Exchanging glances, Neal and Chuck came to an agreement. "It's not safe to risk exposing Bryce, but I can keep in touch with you, and then pass anything on to him that you would like me too." Chuck offered.

Relieved, Jacob agreed to the arrangement and exchanged contact information before he left.

Continuing to sit with Derrick as the crowds thinned out, the group talked some more.

"So, you aren't such a criminal after all… are you?" Derrick chanced to guess.

"No, he isn't." Peter answered. "I don't even know everything, but I can assure you that he is more than he seems."

Changing his mind, Derrick decided to present an offer. "Then… I guess I owe you an apology as well, Neal. When we met earlier, I was seeing you as the man who swindled my father, as just another con artist looking to take advantage of people. If you don't mind, I would like to get to know you as you… and maybe we can be friends after all?"

Smiling softly, Neal shook his hand again. "Peter warned me that that would be the case. I would love to get to know you too, and maybe we will turn out to be friends after all."

* * *

Arriving back at the Burke's, Neal decided to make good on his side of their deal. Walking the familiar path to the attic, he brought his box of academic memorabilia down. "There is a lot in here Peter… I took fencing, gymnastics, and dance in addition to track, and for academics, I studied computer engineering and accounting. I'm an athlete and honor student… we have a lot more in common that you used to think."

Collecting in the living room, the Burks and Bartowskis all settled in to tell about their days and to exchange stories from their academic pasts. Peter even pulled out his box to share with Neal as they all laughed and bonded together as a family.

* * *

Thank you everyone for reading, commenting/reviewing, leaving kudos, following, and choosing favorite :D


	6. Chapter 6

**Hero**

* * *

Back in the office, Peter and Neal anxiously watched the interrogation.

After Chuck had locked himself away to investigate and Sarah had worked with Winters on the streets, they had managed to get a lead on the whereabouts of Blade. In response, the government had sent a taskforce led by agents Casey, Jones, and Berrigan to apprehend him.

With their man in custody, the same agents worked to interrogate him into slipping up about his backers. Their hope was to use him to find the bigger threats behind him.

Experiencing his first meeting with law enforcement, Blade spent most of his time regaling them with comparisons to express just how deep his hatred of cops went.

In an effort to unbalance him, Diana came up with an idea to throw the young man. "Caffrey isn't a cop, so why hurt him?"

Furious, Blade lashed out at them with venomous accusations about their lies. Still, the maneuver proved successful when he slipped and mentioned 'the man.' "He said that Caffrey is FBI… but he theorizes that he might be something more. You don't even know who you have on your team!"

Grabbing onto that, Diana pushed the topic further. "Caffrey is a member of our team. Don't you think that we would know who he is? Besides, if we were to be wrong, what makes _his_ resources better than ours?"

Arrogant, Blade was certain that his contact knew what he was talking about, even though he couldn't verify his resources. "He is invested in that company, and he said that they needed to be stopped before they learned too much. If they did, they would stop his rebellion against you, so I had to help him."

Diana continued to try, but as the group failed to get anything more out of him, Peter and Neal eventually drifted back to the office.

"Whoever is behind him, he is pro enough not to tell the kid anything." Neal mused.

"At least we got Blade. I don't like knowing that someone is randomly out there cutting people." Peter was glad to see justice being served, but he still wished that the bigger problem behind it all could also be apprehended.

"One perpetrator down… countless yet to go." Neal sighed.

"We have gotten this far, we will clear up the rest of it Neal. The best teams and agents that we know are on it." Peter tried to reassure both of them.

"I don't doubt that, I just hope that it will be sooner rather than later." Neal answered.

* * *

The next step of progress for the case came when two young CIA agents felt that they had found the key to the whole puzzle.

Having returned to field work after an extended leave of absence and desk duty, Peter and Neal were happy to accompany the young agents as they went into the field to pursue their lead.

As they drove to the warehouse where they hoped to get some hard evidence to verify that it was a good lead, Neal questioned the agents about their information. "So, who do you suspect?"

"A freelance spy, he goes by the name of Cyprus Mortimer. He is known to work on the side of the villains, but only with the highest bidder. Since that investment fraud case of yours was brining in a lot of money, he seems to be the best suspect for the middle man and a likely connection to both sides." One started the explanation.

Then the other finished it by connecting what he had found. "Mortimer was a weekly regular in the building as he performed the role of their technical analysts from another company. He would deliver his information once a week in a brief case, but then he would also leave with a handy brief case." Leaning towards the older agents, he continued. "We believe that he was brining the market trend information to help them look legit, but that he was leaving with a portion of the cash as his cut. The rest seems to have slipped away in other methods."

It was a valid theory, and the man seemed to be a likely suspect. With five agents, they shouldn't run into any trouble, so they proceeded to the warehouse and began looking for evidence.

Splitting up, Chuck stayed slightly behind Peter and Neal as he wanted to be available to help either group if they ran into any trouble. The younger agents took one direction, and Peter went with Neal in another.

As they walked, all of them could feel their senses tingling. It was a valid location and they weren't alone, but they only had their senses to go on.

Suddenly, Neal heard a scuffle, just moments before the shot was fired. It wasn't much of a warning, but it was the difference between life and death. Leaping to take Peter down in a tackle, Neal heard the shot, felt the sting of penetration, but was distracted by the hard landing as he and his brother hit the ground at full speed.

Waiving Chuck to go (who was shouting for the other two to back him up), Neal rolled off of his brother. "Are you okay Peter?" He asked out of breath.

Working to figure out what had happened, Peter was also trying to catch his breath. "I was before you landed on me, but luckily the damage is only having the wind knocked out of me. You?"

"Yeah, I think I'm fine." Neal responded as he moved to check himself over.

Getting a good look at his little brother, Peter panicked at the sight of blood beginning to soak through Neal's jacket. "You idiot! Neal, you're hit." Moving to his brother's side, Peter hurried to see the extent of the damage.

Wincing at his brother's prodding, Neal noticed his injuries as the shock wore off. "They're just grazes Peter. The bullet passed between my arm and my chest… nothing that a few stitches and bandages won't take care of." Pushing his brother back away from him so that they could see eye to eye, he tried to calm Peter down again as the man was still panicking. "Peter, I am going to be just fine. That shot would have killed you though, so I'm glad that I heard him coming."

"I know you saved my life, thank you for that. But that doesn't mean that it's okay for him to shoot you either. You're not only my friend, but your also my brother by blood… don't scare me like this again. Do you hear me?" Peter tried to go big brother on him, despite the rational part of his brain saying that it would probably happen again.

Knowing that his brother was acting out of panic, Neal didn't push him. "I will do my best to avoid it." He promised.

It was the best that Peter was going to get, so he settled for it.

Returning to check on his friend, Chuck didn't have good news. "We lost him. Apparently, he was expecting us. His bag was packed and most of the evidence is gone… but we did find enough to connect him to the case, so at least this wasn't a wasted trip." Getting close enough to realize that Neal was hurt, he grew concerned as well.

Seeing the familiar panic in his friend's eyes, Neal reassured him too. "I'm fine, Chuck. The bullet just grazed my arm and chest as it passed in between."

Calming down, Chuck wasn't as worried over such a minor injury, but he knew that it still needed to be tended. "Well, we had better get you to a hospital while a team checks this place over.

Outnumbered, Neal had to agree.

* * *

In reaction to the close call, Peter and Neal got into their first big fight as brothers.

Peter was terrified that Neal would get hurt again, so he insisted on Neal staying behind in the office while he continued to pursue leads in the field.

Neal defended his stance by telling Peter that he was trained for these kinds of situations, so he wasn't going off half cocked without a plan. The bullet had been aimed to kill Peter, but Neal had automatically calculated his tackle to minimize the risk for both of them. "You have a wife waiting for you at home, and our parents don't want to lose you just because I'm back in the picture." He argued.

Furious, Peter jabbed him in the chest to drive his point home. "Bullets don't bounce, Neal! Do you seriously think that I would rather go home without you? We would all like the chance to get to know you, and I certainly don't want to be the reason that you get killed in the field." His emotions were breaking him, he had just experienced the worst scare of his life, and he needed to cool down.

Fearing for his brother's safety as well, Neal didn't want to give in, but he could see that Peter wasn't going to give in easily either. "Fine, I'll spend the rest of the day with Jones and Diana, but you don't go anywhere alone. Do _you_ hear _me_? These people have nearly killed you twice, and I am not going to sit by and let them succeed."

Still not pacified, but seeing that it was the best compromise that he was going to get, Peter had one last point to throw in. "I can work with that for now… but you take Chuck with you. You're injured again and won't be able to defend yourself as well if they do attack."

"Aren't Jones and Diana enough?" Neal asked. He would feel more comfortable having Chuck with Peter.

"They will be doing their work. Chuck is to be protecting you, remember?" Peter threw that back at him.

Arguing, Neal couldn't sway Peter to move on his point. After a while, he grudgingly gave in. "Here, wear this at all times, so that I know you are okay." He passed Peter an ear piece.

Putting it in his ear, Peter agreed. "And I'll know that you are okay."

With their fight over, Peter clapped Neal on the shoulder, only to receive a surprise hug.

"You be careful out there bro, I just discovered your existence." Neal hugged him tightly with one arm.

Squeezing his brother gently, but firmly, Peter relished the comfort of knowing that he was okay. Then he pulled away from him and headed out into the field with the other agents.

* * *

While Peter was busy ahead at the warehouse, Neal was riding to the scene with Jones, Diana, and Chuck. The scene had been cleared, so they were heading back to see if anything jumped out at them.

As they were driving there, Neal felt his gut churning and his instincts warning him that not everything was right.

"Peter? Is there anything suspicious going on there?" He questioned.

"No… but I can feel that instinctual insight that something bad is coming too." Peter was on full alert. Was it him, or his brother that was in danger?

Before Neal could respond again, there was a crash and the sound of heavy gun fire.

Shouting, he called to his brother, but Peter wasn't answering. "Can you go any faster Diana?" He pleaded. "There is an attack going on there and Peter isn't answering."

"The traffic is too thick." Flicking her siren on, she tried to signal traffic to get out of the way. "It's not working, they're too packed for me to get through."

"Pass me a gun, Chuck." Neal ordered as he slipped off his sling. He really didn't need it, but it was doctor's orders to keep his arm still until it healed. "It's about a mile to the location where Peter is and I used to be a track star before I was recruited to the agency."

Moving to keep up, Chuck made sure that they were both armed before he hurried to slide out of the vehicle behind him. "Alert backup that we are proceeding on foot." He called as he shut the door.

Racing through the cars, Neal and Chuck made it to the sidewalk where they used the borrowed FBI jackets, obvious urgency, and shouts to clear a path. Heading at full speed, Neal raced past people and neatly flipped over obstacles with Chuck mimicking him from behind.

Listening intently, he could hear groans that meant Peter was hurt.

Then Peter started to talk softly. "No Neal! They are heavily armed, and there are fifteen of them… don't come running in here." Peter tried to beg him to stay away, he had already had one scare for the day.

"Peter, you don't know it yet, but we are black ops agents, so fifteen men of an armed kill squad aren't going to be enough." Neal growled.

Hearing his brother's pained breathing, Neal drove himself to move faster. Leaping hurtles, sliding under tables, and racing through crowds, he covered ground in record speeds.

Arriving at the warehouse, he crashed through an upper window to land into the enemy full tilt, he didn't hold back. With a series of combat moves, he was making quick work at taking them down, even before Chuck could fly in behind him. Combing the efforts of two black ops agents, and the kill squad fell very quickly!

Peter lay on the floor after having been shot and beaten. After the bullet had sent him flying, he had lost his ear piece, but after the beating, he had managed to crawl away to grab it while the squad was distracted with another part of their task. Just when the group had completed their intended work, they were moving to kill Peter once and for all when Neal had flown in through the window.

It had been close, but Neal and Chuck had arrived just in time to save the day.

Crouching next to his brother, Neal was the one panicking this time. "And you got upset when I had a measly graze!" Cataloging his brother's injuries, Neal was showing a side of himself that Peter had never seen before. "He was shot through the shoulder, one rib appears to be fractured, there is going to be some serious bruising over his torso, and there is the chance of a concussion from where he hit his head." This wasn't the nonviolent con artist, this was the calculated black ops agent who had just fought off an entire kill squad with his bare hands.

Slightly scared by the look in Neal's eyes, Peter tried to get him to calm down. "I'll be fine Neal."

"Yeah you will, but you aren't going anywhere without me until this case if over." Neal gave the order.

"I guess that means that you will be off duty for a while then… and here we just got back." Peter commented.

"Take it as a chance to look through my government box. I suppose you are going to want to know more about my work and what that entails, especially after all of this." Neal was calming down, but there was still an obvious edge to his voice.

Hearing the surprised voices behind him, Neal turned to see that Jones, Diana, and the two young agents had caught up to them.

"You're…" One young agent had obviously figured him out.

"Wow! You two are legends!" The other added.

"Keep that to yourself." Chuck chided them.

"Ambulance is on its way." Diana said before she and the others moved to clean up the scene. Chuck and Neal had Peter taken care of, so they would catch up with them later.

* * *

Arriving home from the hospital, Peter sank into his couch and breathed deeply. "You have no idea how good this feels." He wheezed as he took his seat. Catching Neal by his collar, Peter held him in place and made sure that he had his attention. "What were you thinking when you jumped into the middle of that?" He was too injured to fight Neal, but he had his hold on him, so Neal was going to do some explaining!

Sighing, Neal told him a few secrets of his work. "I'm an agent Peter, and one who has spent the most dangerous parts of my career in protection work. Whether it was people, or information that protected people, there were always plenty of bullets flying around, so calculating how to get the job done and survive was a necessity. Although the job has shifted to safer ground, the experience and knowledge doesn't just go away."

Peter was too horrified to think about what that could entail, so he gripped Neal's collar tighter in fear.

Continuing to try and talk him down, Neal settled in next to him on the couch and pointed to the box he had just placed at their feet. "That has everything I can share, and we have plenty of time to talk."

With the promise of information, Peter settled down to heal and learn more about his brother.

* * *

Thank you everyone for reading, commenting/reviewing, leaving kudos, and choosing to favorite :D

I fixed some minor editing errors.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hanging Out**

* * *

Hanging up his phone, Neal ended his conversation with Ellie. "See Peter, even the doctor agrees with me."

"Yeah right!" Peter argued. "So, you can tell her your opinion, and get her to agree with you. I haven't even met this Ellie person, so how could she possibly know why my fever is high today." He wasn't in a good mood, so he didn't appreciate Neal getting bossy with him.

"Because, I have some medical training, and she is trusting my judgment of your symptoms." Neal answered calmly.

Muttering a comment about missing the days when he could threaten to throw Neal in jail, Peter quickly took it back when he saw the look in Neal's eyes. "I don't actually mean in Neal. It's just… I'm tired of being stuck at home and on the couch!"

Holding an emotional distance for a moment, Neal tried to hide how much that hurt. "You're restless and taking it out on me…"

Catching his hand as he was obviously withdrawing again, Peter pulled Neal to sit on the couch beside him. "Neal, I couldn't be more proud to discover that you are my brother, and I like working with you as a fellow agent better than worrying about you as a con. I haven't slipped in a while, as it's getting easier to remember that you aren't really a con, and I didn't mean what I said a moment ago." Leaning back tiredly, Peter tried to relax as the fever was wearing him out. Squeezing Neal's shoulder, he looked at him apologetically. "Sorry. You're right, I'm restless and taking out on you, which isn't right."

As the hurt look left his eyes, Neal moved to grab the pills that Ellie had recommended. "Here, take these and you should get to feeling better."

Glad to see Neal's eyes clearing up of emotion, Peter took the pills and curled up to sleep. "Ignore me when I say mean things like that Neal… I don't mean them." He mumbled as he drifted off to sleep.

Smiling softly, Neal curled up to take a nap himself.

* * *

Waking up first, Peter remained curled up as he watched his brother sleep. Although he had apologized, he still didn't like what he had said. Those conversations used to be a topic of jest between him and his CI, but since he had learned the truth about Neal, they had found other ways to show their comradery. Cracks about going back to prison and checking the anklet had changed. Peter still monitored the anklet to know that his brother was safe and to keep up an element of appearances, but the comments about prison had stopped. Neal wasn't a con, he hadn't technically committed any crime (he was always backed by the agencies) so prison was no longer something that was to be on the table.

Sighing again, Peter couldn't believe he had regressed to making such a comment simply because he was restless and had a fever.

As he continued to watch Neal, he couldn't help but think about the innocent side that Neal had been sharing with him, the side of himself that was just a nerdy kid.

" _Yep, we have more in common than you might think. I may have been in a fraternity and a frequenter of parties in college, but I was also known for my athletic scholarship as well as hanging out with nerds. We tended to discuss advanced things like mathematics, science, engineering, art, and what we would take in a sandwich if we were going to be shipwrecked on a deserted island." Neal had paused to smirk playfully. "By the way, those answers ranged from actual food, to games, to beautiful women who wouldn't take a second look at us, but we were young and having fun."_

Those memories brought a smile to Peter's face. Although he and his friends weren't into choosing what to put into a sandwich, they had had their own collection of pointless questions to theorize over back in the day. The more he got to know Neal, the more he learned to see the similar qualities that they possessed.

As his mind continued to wander, it was inevitable that it would find its way to the other side of his discoveries, to the parts where Neal had revealed himself to be a dangerous agent.

Having gone through the boxwith Neal, Peter had mostly seen generalized commendations for heroism, references to completed assignments of great difficulty, and hints that Neal might have been involved in legends. There weren't really any hard facts to go by, as most of it was above his clearance level and /or out of his need to know, but Peter had still found himself pouring over every scrap of information that he could get his hands on.

In addition to the box, Peter had also taken note of how the young CIA agents had reacted to Neal and Chuck's rescue, which wasn't even mentioning the rescue itself, to detail the skills that the two agents had.

The more he learned about his brother, the more he realized that his brother was truly a legend who tended to hide both his innocence and his heroism behind whatever character he was assigned to play at the moment.

Lulled by the peace of the atmosphere and Neal's soft snores, Peter found his eye lids getting heavier, but he was happy to have had the quiet observation of the man that his brother truly was… someone that he needed to show appreciation for more often.

* * *

As soon as Peter was well enough, Neal suggested that they drag him to the mall. It was an opportunity to meander through the shops, get something from the food court, and if Peter was up to it, they could even catch a movie.

Stopping in front of an arcade, Neal got excited enough that the others had to join him in a few rounds of games.

"Come on Peter, lets race… that is something that you can do one handed." Neal said, mindful of how sore Peter's shoulder still was.

Getting a competitive light to his eyes, Peter was enjoying the chance to see Neal for himself where he could show his actual taste in activities and things. "You're on. But remember, I was the top driver in my Quantico class…" He tried to come off as intimidating.

Unfazed, Neal grinned at him. "Like I wasn't in my training class…?"

Eager to see which one won, Elizabeth stood behind them and observed the challenge. Cheering them both on, she was happy to see that it was a close race, but not surprised when Neal won.

"I'll have to take you on again once my shoulder has fully healed." Peter was hopeful for better luck next time.

Shrugging, Neal was confident in his skills. "You can try, but you won't beat me. I'm a nerd and master at video games."

"Do you have any in your boxes?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yeah, but my current character doesn't do nerdy things." Neal shrugged again as he moved to the next game.

Seeing that it was a huge part of his interest, Elizabeth suggested. "Why don't you bring it downstairs? I'm sure you could play it at our house from time to time."

Knowing that Neal would find reasons to leave it in the attic, Peter added to her comment. "You should you know. That way you can show us what you like to play, and maybe you could challenge me at home… you do have a racing game, right?"

"There is Mario Karts, but what would be the story behind you suddenly acquiring a gaming system?" Neal hedged.

"I bought it for something that you two could bond over, and because Chuck likes to play." Elizabeth answered.

Smirking, Neal validated her story. "Chuck does like to play, but why would you think that Peter and I would play?"

"Because, it was my idea, so you would both do as I suggested and play. Perhaps, you even decide that you like to play, because it is a bonding time between the two of you." Elizabeth saw the matter settled.

"You can bring it down when we get home… maybe we'll even play for a while?" Peter suggested.

Knowing when he was beaten, Neal decided that they should go check out a game store to see what else they could get that Peter and Elizabeth might be more interested in. "There is a game store, we should check it out then." Was his way of telling them that he was giving in.

"Or maybe we could just ask Chuck, I'm sure he and Sarah might have checked it out already." Peter said. Their body guards were enjoying some private time, while also being fairly close in case they were needed.

Pulling out his phone, Neal asked him if there were anything for his console. With a positive answer, he smiled at Peter. "They have been there, and the store has games for my console. We'll have to make a stop there before we leave."

Sighing, Peter resigned himself to tagging along. Apparently, his little brother did have interests different than him, but at least a game store should take less time than a museum… right?

Moving out of the store, Elizabeth drug the two to a photo booth. "We should take some pictures." Her eyes lit up with humor. "I'm thinking some goofy ones."

Enjoying the prospect of getting some goofy pictures of Peter, Neal was on board for the plan.

Although he wasn't much of one for making goofy poses, Peter went along with it because it was Elizabeth and Neal. "Just don't expect me to be as goofy as you two." He commented.

Raising her eyebrow at him, Elizabeth teased him with a threatening look. "Are you calling me goofy?"

Neal reacted with a faked indignant expression. "I believe we were just insulted."

Rolling his eyes at them, Peter generally ignored their remarks. "Are you sure that three people can fit in there?"

Taking turns, they took a series of pictures. Some were more romantic of Peter and Elizabeth flirting, others were of Peter and Neal being brothers, Elizabeth took some pictures of her and Neal to commemorate their new found relationship, and then they crowded in for a few with all three of them together as a family unit.

Continuing down to the food court, they divide up the pictures and sorted who got which one while they got themselves some food.

Seeing that Peter was getting worn out, Neal suggested that they meet Chuck and Sarah at the movie theatre for a showing before heading home.

Agreeing to his plan, they conferred with the others until they came to the conclusion of watching a nerdy movie that appealed to Neal and Chuck. As there wasn't one that particularly appealed to the others, they gave way to the nerds and prepared themselves to watch the movie whether it was to their preferences, or not.

Getting tickets and grabbing their snacks, the group made their way into the theatre where they chose a row and settled in. Elizabeth took the outer seat, Peter next to her, Neal, then Chuck, and finally Sarah on the other side.

Watching the movie, Peter enjoyed Neal and Chuck's enthusiasm, Sarah and Elizabeth tried to understand what was so interesting about it, and the others were totally absorbed into the plot until the end.

While they walked out, Neal and Chuck were going ninety miles an hour as they discussed the merits of the plot and reenacted their favorite scenes. Sarah and Elizabeth walked along with Peter as they laughed at the other two, but none of them could particularly share their enthusiasm.

Ignoring the other's disinterest, Neal and Chuck tried to help them to see the point of the movie and to enjoy the story in the plot. When that failed, they chose to pick out some games before returning to the Burkes for an evening in.

* * *

On their way home, Neal and Chuck decided to make it an all nighter, despite Peter's slight protests.

"Come on Peter, it's like having a sleepover as kids. None of us have to work in the morning so we can hang out with games, maybe watch a movie, and do whatever we want as late as we want. Then in the morning we can sleep in before making breakfast… I promise to make something if you let us." Neal tried to beg.

Unable to resist the chance to provide his brother with some simple fun, and finding himself interested to participate, Peter gave in fairly easily. "Fine, but if you make a mess then you are cleaning it up, not too much noise as we do have neighbors, and you had better make something really good to go with the coffee that you will be providing." Peter bargained.

"Deal… lets swing by my place so that Chuck and Sarah can get their things and I'll get some of June's Italian roast." Neal agreed.

Elizabeth added to their plans by requesting a stop at the grocery store. She wanted to get snacks and other treats for munching on through the night.

Making quick work on their stops, the group arrived back at the Burkes and moved to get set up. Peter changed and took a brief nap as the day had worn him out, Sarah and Elizabeth had prepared the snacks, and Neal had worked with Chuck to retrieve the gaming console with its accessories before bringing it all down and setting it up.

With everything ready, the group decided to join Peter in taking a nap before planning on staying up virtually, if not literally, all night for the fun of it.

* * *

Waking up as Chuck and Sarah made their way downstairs in comfy pajamas, Neal switched places with them as he moved up to the guest room to change his clothes as well.

Coming out in a pair of comfy sweats and a t-shirt, Neal met Elizabeth in the hallway.

Pulling him into a hug, Elizabeth told him again how happy she was to have him in the family. "Things have changed a lot ever since we learned that you are family Neal." She laughed softly. "I don't think we would have ever had an all night sleep over with you and your friends before this, yet alone found ourselves friends with them to the point of considering them just another brother and his wife… Thank you Neal, we couldn't ask for a better little brother." Laying her head against his shoulder, she enjoyed the feeling of happiness as he returned her hug.

Happy as well, Neal laid his head on top of hers. "Thank you Elizabeth. I know it took some work for you to accept me as a criminal, and that it was a relief when you learned that I am not actually one, but I'm glad that you have accepted me into the family like it's where I have always been. Not only that, but you have befriended Chuck and accepted Sarah like a younger sister. After everything growing up… I never imagined myself in a place like this." Neal breathed deeply and relished the peace of knowing that he was loved.

Wiping a tear away on his shoulder, Elizabeth squeezed him tighter before stepping back. "I'm going to go get the snacks, Peter was waking up when I came out… he should be out in just a moment."

Turning as the door opened behind them, Neal moved to see Peter coming out in his own sweats and a t-shirt. "Are you feeling better Peter?" He asked.

Yawning, Peter stretched lightly. "Yeah, and I'm happy to be back to sleeping in my own bed instead of on the couch. It isn't a bad place to sleep for a night, but it's not somewhere that I like to be long term." Catching up to Neal, he stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "I heard your conversation with El… and we both mean it, Neal. You are a great younger brother, and we are both proud to have you in the family." He squeezed his shoulder.

Turning to hug his brother, Neal loved the feeling of warmth that came with love and acceptance. "I'm lucky to have a brother and sister like you too. You have opened your hearts, and your home to me… even before discovering that I am actually family."

"And you are always welcome here, Neal. Don't forget that! Even if you get given another assignment in the future, I still expect you to stop by, to keep in touch, and to be present for family occasions as often as possible." Peter pushed for a promise.

Letting a weight fall off of his shoulders, Neal promised to do his best.

Stepping back from the hug, Peter threw his arm acrossed Neal's shoulder for a moment. "Now, what do you say about us heading down where I am going to beat you at racing?"

Laughing, Neal answered. "I say 'dream on big brother, dream on.'"

* * *

Thank you everyone for reading, commenting/reviewing, leaving kudos, following, and choosing to favorite :D


	8. Chapter 8

**The Case**

* * *

Sitting around the office as they waited for the morning meeting to start, Neal kept trying to get Mozzie to tell something of his past. He wasn't pushing in a mean way, but rather, more like a reaction to a challenge to see if he could get Mozzie to share.

Eventually, Mozzie decided to tell them something of his real past that was so vague it wouldn't reveal anything, but that would be true enough to have shared something real. "I was raised by my aunt, and not in an orphanage as my character history suggests."

Surprised to have succeeded at wearing him down, Neal questioned him. "Why are you suddenly getting so vocal now?"

Toying with them further, Mozzie refused to answer.

"Be nice Mozzie." Chuck admonished. He wasn't participating in the game, because he already knew many of the answers.

"Fine. You are my friends, so I don't feel threatened, but I still don't want to share anything too personal… at least not at this time." Mozzie admitted.

Relieved, the team liked to know that they had gained ground with the mysterious agent.

Concerned, Peter asked. "Why weren't your parents in the picture?"

Recognizing it as a question out of concern, and not prying, Mozzie decided to answer one more. "My parents left me with her before going on an assignment… they haven't been seen or heard from since."

Before anyone could say anything else, Chuck defended him. "He has told all that he is comfortable with, so leave him alone for now. As for his missing parents, my father has been looking for them for years… they aren't simply missing and forgotten."

Grateful, Mozzie nodded to him. "Thanks Chuck. I suppose you will also be on the lookout now that you know?"

"Yes, and I will notify you if anything turns up." Chuck promised.

While Mozzie threw his focus into the file before him, the rest of the room threw grateful glances at Chuck before falling silent on the subject.

After a few moments, another topic of conversation was chosen and the group continued to mingle.

* * *

When the screen clicked on, everyone was surprised to not only see 'the boss' who was the mysterious person in charge of the other team, but that there was another person also displayed with their appearance obscured.

"Hi dad." Chuck started the acknowledgements.

"Sir." Neal followed suit.

Clearing her throat, the general ended the pleasantries. "Orion has a breakthrough on the case. We believe that the primary culprit has been found." Having garnered the full attention of the entire room, she turned the situation over to Orion.

Taking a basic approach, Orion began to share what he had found. "The man behind the attacks is Victor Stroud." Victor's picture took over the screen. "He is a wealthy man in New York City, but he likes to hide that. By living below his means and avoiding media's attention, he keeps a low profile to the public. Then when there is a problem, he has a tendency to hire people, like Mortimer, Blade, and the kill squad, to do his dirty work while keeping himself away from the business in the hopes of avoiding arrest." Orion explained why the man wasn't familiar.

Continuing into the evidence, he transitioned the pictures to follow each piece of information.

"His strategy for earning his income is to sell items smuggled in through the black market with a focus on tobacco, alcohol, and sweat shop products, like reproductions of Persian rugs. He wasn't perceived as a threat compared to all of the gun and drug runners, but he has been a growing problem." The pictures flipped through a few images of products being smuggled via crates or in sight as they were transported off of sea going vessels.

"Once the items are sold, he needs to clean the money." There were a few pictures that showed Stroud's connection to the investment fraud case via his paper trail. "From what has been discovered, he pays his money into the company via fake investments and assumed identities." Some pictures of people came up to represent the various identities. "It was challenging to find how he got the money back though."

Passing the next part of the situation on, the room was surprised when Chuck and Neal took the lead.

Taking control of the computer, Neal impressed the room with his skills by quickly pulling up some complicated programs to display how they traced the situation. "What? I'm trained in computers and accounting." He shrugged at their surprise.

Smirking at the office, Peter was happy to be in the know for this reveal. "That is just another of many secrets that he has been keeping from us."

"Says his big brother." Diana quipped with a smile.

Laughing gently, the rest of the office enjoyed the changes that had recently occurred. No one had to worry about Neal and his crimes anymore, so the atmosphere was even lighter than it had been.

Before the general could reprimand the room, Chuck cleared his throat playfully. "As much as I love Neal having a family, we have a case to finish here."

Settling down again, the room paid attention.

"Now that I have your attention again…" Chuck smiled. "It was rather simple once we figured it out, because Victor also runs a fake bank." Showing the picture of the one in question, he continued. "Apparently, the mortgages were paid into his bank as clean money before he transferred them into fake investments. Finally, those investments turned out to be international bank accounts."

While Neal happily pulled up the coolest international mansion that he could find, Chuck theorized the intended destination for the fortune. "Based on what Orion has discovered, he seems to be saving up for some kind of fancy retirement somewhere. As you can see, Neal theorizes that he is going to buy a trigged mansion."

"Don't all evil villains?" Neal muttered.

"Only in your mind, Neal." Peter teased.

"If he can afford a trigged mansion, then he could easily afford to hire the hits." Jones noted.

"Has this information been verified?" Hughes asked.

Coming back onto the screen, the general answered the question. "The final details are being verified, but most of it has been confirmed. While we wait for that, the teams are to begin preparing plans for how to catch and take Stroud down." She ordered.

Changing from an informative meeting, they moved to throwing plans around and theorizing ways that they could organize the arrest.

* * *

Once the information had been confirmed, the teams got a warrant and were serving it when they got their next series of surprises.

Standing on the roof, they were trying to make a sneak approach to keep Stroud from noticing them before they were ready. The problems began when a hidden security measure was triggered causing the guards to attack, and it didn't take long before the confrontation wasn't going in the FBI's favor.

Moving to protect Peter, Neal planted himself by his brother's side. "You're not getting hurt this time." He promised a little too prematurely.

Just after he opened his mouth, a group of the guards focused on Neal and forced him to defend himself. Despite his skills and determination, they managed to manipulate him to the edge of the roof before one of them kicked him off of the brink.

Unable to get through the crowd, Peter could only watch in horrified terror as his brother flew off of the edge of the building. Watching, his mind pictured Neal frantically clawing at the air as he fell in a desperate attempt to catch something only to… He couldn't go there, just the thought of imagining his brother on the cement below had his heart clenching in agony. They had only been brothers for a few months, not long, but long enough to learn to truly appreciate each other. Continuing to stare at empty space, Peter couldn't even grieve, he was stuck in that moment of shock, trapped in a second of time.

Attempting to distract him from his trauma, Jones reached Peter's side. "I'm sure he is alright…" When that didn't work, Jones pointed to Chuck as he climbed up the fire escape. "Maybe Chuck managed to pull something off?"

Then after another moment, Peter was happy to see Neal climb up the fire escape only a little ways behind Chuck. Breathing, he hadn't even realized that he was holding his breath until he finally inhaled the much needed oxygen. With his head swimming, he swayed slightly as Neal caught and steadied him.

"Chuck caught me and swung me over to the landing beneath him, which is why I was a little ways behind him." Neal hugged Peter briefly as the reinforcements were taking the guards into custody before the rest of the teams were making entry to apprehend Stroud.

Hugging Neal tightly for the brief connection, Peter kept his hand on his shoulder as he pulled back. "That scared me more than you getting shot and taking on a kill squad…" He was still trying to regain his composure.

Nodding for Chuck to go on, Neal patted Peter on the back gently. "I could heal from a bullet and fight an opponent, but gravity is unbeatable by man alone." Neal explained. "Breath, Peter. You're still panicking and not taking in enough air."

Following orders, Peter breathed deeper as he tried to chase the little black spots away. "That is a first… I have never had a panic attack during a bust, not even when I was a rookie."

"You never watched your little brother get kicked off of a building before either… I think there is a reason the two events coincided." Neal said as he pulled Peter into another hug. The man still needed the reassurance that he was alright.

Standing for a few moments, Peter simply breathed and comforted himself with the solid feeling of his brother's arms wrapped around his back while his arms also hit the solidity of his brother's form. Neal wasn't broken on the ground; he was standing strong, and hugging him back.

Pulling away, Peter finally reached the point where he had calmed down. "That is going to be the downside of still getting to work as a team… I can see why the agencies don't usually let family work together, it's distracting." Peter admitted.

"Technically, I am a consultant for the FBI and am still an agent for another agency on a temporary assignment, albeit for an undetermined amount of time, so it isn't exactly the same." Neal tried to lighten the mood.

"True… but the worry doesn't change." Peter said as he started to look around.

Filling him in on what had happened while Peter was zoned out, Neal explained. "The reinforcements took down the guards, the teams are apprehending Stroud… and Chuck needs my help." Directing Peter to go with him, Neal led the way down into the apartment and found Chuck standing in front of a huge vault.

"He has locked himself in there and will suffocate if we don't get him out quickly. And since you are the residential expert at safe cracking…" Chuck said.

Directing his focus to the safe, Neal started to look it over and asking questions to gather as much information as possible. "What kind of lock is it? How is the door attached? Do we know how much time we have? Are there any fail safes or backups to worry about?"

"That's the problem… we have no idea, and this is a custom model, so even I don't have anything to work off of." Chuck explained.

"Okay… then let's do some information gathering." Neal directed. Poking around, he kept knocking on walls and came up with an estimated size and no other openings for possible access. "It looks like this door is our only option." Checking the door and locking mechanism, the lock seemed to be the most vulnerable point of entry. "Uh-oh, there is a secondary that will blow if I don't make it think that I have submitted the right passwords on the first try."

Stepping forwards, Chuck volunteered to help. "What do you need?"

Conspiring together, the two put their genius minds to use and figured out ways to defeat the lock and its backups.

Taking the lead, Neal put his focus on cracking the system with a mix of skills. He was part super agent, but he was mostly computer engineer and safe cracker.

Providing his support, Chuck worked to help him create a program to circumvent the security system.

When they were successful, the two high fived before opening the door for an entry team in protective gear.

Clapping the two men on the back, and playfully ruffling their hair, Peter showed his pride in a playful manner that the team had never witnessed before. "Good job you two." He congratulated them.

Straightening their hair with smiles, the other two pretended to lament his new way of treating them.

"Did you really have to mess with the hair?" Neal playfully complained.

"He's your brother, but does he really have to extend that to me?" Chuck gently whined.

Enjoying his relationship with them, Peter just messed their hair up again before walking away. "He may be my biological brother, but he brought you along as a surrogate brother Chuck."

The team watched as the two smiled.

"I guess I'll just have to get used to another big brother." Chuck relaxed and decided to leave his hair alone for the moment as it was fixed enough.

Finishing the process of straightening his, Neal commented. "Peter has had to adjust to having two little brothers; while I have had to adjust to having you back in the picture, and learning that I have a family." Getting a thoughtful look on his face, Neal had to say what he had just come up with. "You know, in that sense, Blade's attack and everything that has been going on has actually been good."

"How is that?" Diana asked skeptically.

"Just think of it this way, Chuck and I are friends again, Peter got two little brothers like he has always wanted, and I have a loving family for the first time that I can remember… if he wasn't a criminal trying to kill us, this wouldn't be so bad." Neal explained.

Flummoxed at such an unexpected perspective, the team didn't know what to think about it.

"Seriously Caffrey? Are you sure you didn't hit your head on that fall of yours?" Diana asked.

"How can you possibly see anything good out of nearly getting killed at least three times?" Jones questioned.

"The causes weren't good, but the results have been life altering." Neal shrugged. "Sure, he tried to kill us repeatedly, but it was that initial attack that caused Peter and me to learn the truth."

Seeing his perspective, the others respected his optimism.

"That is a good way to look at it when you put it that way." Jones acknowledged. "Since when did you get to be so optimistic?"

Thinking, Neal didn't have an answer at first. "I wouldn't say that I am optimistic. More… more like trying to find the silver lining. And although that means that I am trying to find optimism, it doesn't mean that I am optimistic."

Dispersing to finish the work, the teams had the scene to clear and a pile of reports before the case would be shuffled off to the legal department for the court side of the operation.

* * *

Thank you everyone for reading, commenting/reviewing, leaving kudos, following, and choosing to favorite my stories and I :D

This story is coming to an end next week which means that we get to begin a new one. The only question is, which one would you all like to see next? Please cast your vote via review/comment or PM :D


	9. Chapter 9

**Going Home**

* * *

Curled up in the back seat, Neal watched the world go by as he left the city for the first time in quite a while.

"Did Chuck and Sarah make it home safely?" Elizabeth asked from the passenger seat.

"Yeah, they texted that they had a safe landing." He paused for a moment. "They also promised to visit as much as possible, and the rest of their family will reach out if they come through the area too… now you can expect to have secret agents randomly popping up out of nowhere."

"Have you resolved your old differences with them?" Peter asked from his usual spot in the driver's seat.

"As well as can be done over the phone. " Neal shrugged. "Morgan still isn't my biggest fan, most of the family is generally accepting, Sarah is happy to see me with a life, and Chuck is the only one enthused… but then he was the one that I was always closest to and the most open with."

"At least you get to have your friend back and the general acceptance of his family." Elizabeth tried to point out the bright side. "Do you think they will keep in touch with you?"

"Chuck and Sarah will. The rest may reach out if they feel the need, but aren't too likely to keep steady contact. If nothing else, the other agents will reach out for work related purposes." He knew that Orion would reach out if he wanted help, and Frost seemed to be willing to work with him.

"Just be careful… I've already had enough scares to last a lifetime." Peter shuddered from his position. The memories were still very vivid in his mind.

"That goes for you too, Peter… you've scared me as well." Neal reminded him.

"Both of you be careful!" Elizabeth interjected. "I don't want to lose either of you."

"We don't go looking for trouble, but when it finds us, we have each other's backs in the field. If there is anything that we can do, we will do it to make it home in time for dinner… or to visit for dinner." Neal commented to try and lighten the mood.

"You have that right buster. I expect to see you over for dinner at least a few times a week." Elizabeth started to smile.

"And maybe the occasional breakfast." Peter added with a smile in the rearview mirror.

"'Just as long as I don't waive fake badges in your face'… but, what if I was to wave a real one?" Neal teased with a smile.

"I would like to see that at least once." Peter commented.

"Why haven't you shown that?" Elizabeth asked

"It's not something that I am supposed to be waving around, or carrying, in case someone sees it that shouldn't. An agent's badge isn't exactly expected from a con artist." Neal explained.

Understanding, the others still wished to see it once.

"Maybe, sometime when you are over at my place I'll show you where I hid it." Neal smirked.

Making plans, the others shared a conspiratorial glance. "I think we need to have dinner at your place when we get back… it's about time you cooked."

Laughing, Neal agreed. "Deal."

* * *

Driving down his home street, Peter felt his excitement mounting. "We are just past the next block with the acreage right on the edge of town." He informed Neal.

"So that park we just past is probably the one that you grew up playing on?" Neal asked. His mind was picturing miniature versions of Peter and himself playing on it regardless.

"That is the location, but newer equipment." Peter glanced in the rearview mirror. "You're picturing what it would have been like if we had grown up playing there, aren't you?" He said as he started up the driveway.

"Sort of, more like picturing mini versions of us playing a childish game of our International chase… that is the closest I could come to picturing it." Neal said as his interest shifted to viewing the house ahead of them.

The Craftsman house had a steeper than usual pitch to shed the heavy snows, but it retained the characteristic décor common to the style of home and the big welcoming porch that invited guest to stay a while. Looking around, the landscaping was muted with the lateness of the season, but it was obviously beautiful in the peak of summer.

While Peter parked the car, Iris and Isaac walked down the stairs to greet them.

"You know, I hadn't thought about it before, but you really look like mom Neal… If I had known that you exist, I wonder if I would have associated your similarities to our parents. I mean, you have mom's dark hair, blue eyes, and build, but dad's smile, and a mix of our personalities. Now that it's hitting me, I wonder why I hadn't noticed before." Peter noted.

Unsure of whether it was a good thing to have their mother's feminine build, Neal was happy to hear the other comparisons. "Dad is a lot like I pictured him… like an older version of you with a little salt and pepper on top. You both have the brown features and the broader build, but you do have mom's tendency of placing your hands on your hips." Neal smiled.

"Like that's a bad thing?" Peter questioned with a smile.

"It's not a bad thing, but I'm just pointing out that you have mom's characteristics too." Neal said as he reached to open his door.

As their parents reached the car, the conversation dropped for the moment as they exited the vehicle to greet the rest of their family.

* * *

Walking up the stairs, Neal admired the house. It was full of handcrafted woodwork and the stone fire place was perfect for cozying up with the flames on a cold winter's day.

Unable to help himself, Neal imagined climbing up the stairs as a little boy, following Peter as they snuck down early on Christmas morning to see their gifts… his mind created so many happy memories that didn't exist, that it hurt. His father wasn't there to carry him up when he fell asleep on the couch, his mother wasn't there to tuck him in at night, and his big brother wasn't there to keep him company when Evelyn was locked away in her depression.

Sighing, he almost missed the collection of frames hung in the hall. Pausing, he stopped to peruse through the pictures that depicted the family through the years. Smiling, he laughed softly at some of them.

"You look pretty happy there with your ice cream Peter." Neal teased his brother about a picture of him covered with the delicious treat.

"If you're not wearing it as a kid, then it's not good." Peter shrugged. "Don't say that you didn't end up wearing your food, every kid does at some point." Changing the subject slightly, he wanted Neal to share a story. "Do you have any fond ice cream memories from when you were a kid?"

"Not really… Ellen taught me how to make a banana split, and that was always something special that we had on the nights that she watched me, but there isn't a particular time that stands out."

"Would you mind if we made that something special, in her memory, since she can't share that with you?" Iris asked.

Neal welcomed the chance to make it more special.

Continuing down the hall, Iris made sure to stop him by a particular frame. Reading it, Neal was touched to see their names collected together. 'Isaac Benjamin, Iris Esme, Peter William, and Aaron Micah' was listed with their last name in large print and a family picture hovering above. "I'm honored… and touched." He breathed to calm his emotions.

"You were always a part of this family, but this is the first time that we have been able to include you on the family wall." Isaac said proudly as he watched the effect it had on Neal.

There was a misty look to Neal's eyes so he tried to distract the family from noticing. "So, which room was Peter's?"

Guiding them to it, Peter led the way. "It's mostly the same way that it was when I moved out. Mom and dad did make some adjustments though…"

Opening the door, Neal wasn't surprised to see the baseball trophies, sports posters, and other paraphernalia that was characteristic to his brother. There was a mixture of old world charm from the house, sports paraphernalia that Peter loved, and something undefinable that made the room cozy in such a way that it screamed 'Peter's room.' "I like it."

"Even without the nerdy posters and figurines everywhere?" Peter asked lightly to tease Neal.

"Yes, even without the nerdy stuff that always littered my room."

Leaving Peter's and Elizabeth's stuff, the group moved to the next room down the hall.

"This is technically the guest room, but that was only because we couldn't call it yours…" Isaac rumbled.

With tears in his eyes, Neal hugged both of his parents. "Well, I'll be honored for it to be referenced as my room when I come to visit.

Although she didn't say it out loud, Elizabeth wanted to say, 'maybe you can leave something here too act as another anchor,' but she couldn't without feeling like she was imposing.

"I wish we could make it your childhood room, but that isn't possible." Iris lamented.

"Peter and I talked about that…" Neal said as he moved mysteriously to his bag. "Meet Ted, the only belonging that I have had for as long as I can remember." He handed them his childhood teddy bear.

Laughing through their tears, his mother hugged the bear tightly while his father stroked its head. "Thank you son… thank you for giving us a piece of your childhood." They said.

* * *

Showing Neal through the house, the rest of the Burkes enjoyed giving him the full tour and sharing various stories about things as they went.

"This clock was your grandfathers. He carved it for your grandmother as a gift for their first Christmas together." Iris continued to tell how it was passed to her on the first Christmas that she and Isaac had been married.

"Why wasn't it passed to Peter and Elizabeth when they were married?" Neal asked.

"We actually got a clock from my parents." Elizabeth explained.

"So, we hope that you will take it someday." Isaac said. "That way it stays in the family and we get to see it passed on through to another generation."

Unsure of what to say, Neal paused. "I would love to have an heirloom, but I don't know if my life will ever settle down enough to marry."

"Maybe, someday Neal, there is a lot of time for things to change." Peter encouraged. "You're on a steady assignment, so maybe that will turn into a relationship, or something different with your work that can create an opening for a future relationship."

Hopeful, Isaac and Iris didn't push Neal, they knew that he was being realistic with his government work, but they still wanted to see him settled down someday.

Finishing the tour, they arrived in the basement where they had a pool table and some other assorted games.

"What else do you expect to do when the snow is a couple of feet deep?" Was Isaac's reason for the family game room.

"How about I show you some tricks?" Neal had one of his con artist expressions on as he stood with a pool stick.

Interested to know her son's skills, Iris asked. "How did you learn to play?"

Getting a little sheepish, Neal cut the con act. "Evelyn wasn't exactly the most attentive to things like lunch money, and there was a pool hall between home and school…" He left the sentence hanging.

Feeling awkward, the group fell silent for a moment.

"Well, let's see how well fed you were." Isaac challenged with a smile. "Peter and I have played many a game down here, so we have the native advantage."

Grinning in anticipation, Peter grabbed a stick himself and joined the challenge.

Laying out the rules, they started into the game while the others chatted with them and observed.

When that game finished, they rearranged the players for another game.

"Come on mom, how about you and dad play Peter and me?" Neal asked.

Seeing the challenge in Neal's eyes, she decided to teach him a lesson. "Don't think that I can't play. I have grown up on this game as well, and even though I haven't ever been a pool shark, I do know how to play a mean game of pool."

Loving the homey environment and the fun of relaxing with his family, Neal didn't care if he won or lost, it was simply the joy of playing the game. "Bring it on, mom. I'm going to enjoy pitting my skills against you with this round."

"Go Iris!" Elizabeth playfully cheered. "What? We girls have to stick together." She smiled as she lightly kissed Peter in apology for cheering on the other team.

"Now I'm thinking that we should do girls verses boys for the next competition." Peter responded with a teasing smile.

"I can play, but I would be a weak point." Elizabeth tried to back out.

"Uh-uhh, there is no backing out now hon. You said that you girls have to stick together, so now you have to play at least one round." Peter playfully pushed.

"Fine, but don't complain when I'm too easy to beat." Elizabeth had a glint to her eye. She wasn't a bad player, but she was fishing for the advantage of being underestimated… even if it was only by Neal.

"Peter has told me stories Elizabeth, no one is falling for that one." Neal burst her bubble.

Laughing, the group enjoyed her effort to glare at her husband. As they all knew that it was in fun, no one took it seriously.

Settling in, they spent the rest of the afternoon bonding over games as a family.

* * *

Getting up in the morning, Neal meandered his way down the hall in his pajamas. Walking past the pictures, he slowly looked them through again with more understanding. They had spent a while the evening before going through stories of who each member of the family was, how they were related, and some interesting story or aspect about them to make them more familiar to Neal.

Walking down the stairs, Neal could hear the others talking about plans to throw the long awaited party to reveal his existence to the extended family. It was odd, but as he was learning who they were, the rest of the family would soon be learning who he was as well.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, he continued around the corner until he entered the kitchen. "So, the rest of the family will be here later today for the initial meet and great?" He already knew the answer, but he was letting them know that he had heard part of their conversation as it carried through the house.

"Yes." Peter answered. "Remember, I told you that the rest of the family would be around for at least one day to get to meet you for the first time."

"I know, but I was trying to point out that your conversation carries, so I have heard most of the plans." Neal informed them.

Unable to be disappointed, Iris smiled and began to fill him in on the details again now that she could show him her ideas in person.

Smiling at Peter, Neal let her show him the ideas and threw in some ideas of his own as to what would make a good family gathering, at least as far as he had always imagined anyway.

Placing a hot plate of food in front of him, Isaac patted his shoulder. "We have waited a long time to throw this party, so we aren't worried about it being expensive Neal. Think of it as thirty some years of birthdays that we have missed."

Relishing the atmosphere, Neal dug into his food. "I think this will be fulfilling a lot of dreams." He said to the table at large.

As Isaac joined the conversation and the planning began in earnest, Neal let their words flow over him. The party didn't matter, and the details weren't what made the party special. It was the fact that his family was throwing him a party to officially recognize and welcome him in as one of their own.

* * *

Thank you everyone for reading, commenting, leaving kudos, and choosing to favorite :D

I still need to know which completed story readers would like to see next, but for lack of current requests I have chosen to do "Ryder Reviews - A Fairy Tale Romance" next week. It is a one shot addition to my first story and focuses on how Peter's and Elizabeth's romance originally started as well as how it progressed after their abductions...


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